Five Score Divided by Four - A Mother and Daughter's Paths

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 1
Chapter 5

Chapter 2

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I stare down at the bubbles on my thigh. “What... the bloody hell? Where’d those come from?”

My reaction causes Kelly’s accusing tone to turn to a slightly concerned one. “You mean... you don’t remember getting those?”

I slowly nod, barely paying attention, my eyes never having left the markings. I slowly move a hand to them, feeling the skin the bubbles are imprinted on.

There’s no signs of any of the things I’d heard mates at work talk about when you get a tattoo. It’s almost as if they were naturally there, though that idea is so impossible I’m not even going to bother explaining it.

“I didn’t have these before we went to sleep, right?” I ask, just making sure, finally pulling my eyes away from the marks to meet her eyes.

Kelly frowns, thinking, before they widen in shock. “No. No, you didn’t. I saw you both thighs before you turned out the lights as we really got into it. They were as blank as ever, no markings of any kind on either.”

I groan, rubbing my head. “Okay, so, somehow, tattoos appeared on my thigh whilst we were asleep.”

“... Maybe before then?” I glance at her, my expression asking the question. She gulps. “Well, during the part with the mail, I saw a flash that I didn’t understand. I thought for a second that maybe it was from outside, before I realized the curtains were blocking out everything, leaving the room dark for us.”

I frown, a small amount of memory returning. “Yeah,” I nod. “I’m vaguely remembering something. I saw that flash too and, for a few seconds, felt that both my thighs were warmer than a second before that, but, since we were doing it, didn’t give it much thought.”

Kelly scratches her chin. “So, it happened before we went to sleep. When was that?”

“Um...” I said, scratching my neck. “I was pretty out of it by the end, but I think I saw the clock say 2:48AM. So, really early this morning.”

We sit in silence for a while, both in thought of how I got tattoos on my thigh without the use of needles or anything. From what we could gather, the bubbles had just suddenly appeared for no reason.

After some time I sigh. “Well, let’s figure it out later.” My stomach gives a loud growl. “I’m hungry.”

She nods, though she still looks worried. I don’t blame her, I am too. How does a man just suddenly get a group of bubbles appearing on his thigh? It doesn’t make any logical sense.

As we exit the bed and start to get dressed, we’re surprised to learn it isn’t just one thigh. My right thigh is also sporting a marking of six bubbles. I’ve a matching pair.

As we dress, I can’t help feeling I’ve seen those bubbles somewhere before, but not sure where.

We head downstairs to find Jenny’s in the kitchen, cooking breakfast.

She glances at us as we sit at the table, a sly grin on her face. “Well, you two sure were having fun last night.”

Both of us blush and try not to look at either her or each other. I know it’s rude to just have at it with your girlfriend in someone else’s house, but we couldn’t help it. Once we got a little in, there was no turning back.

She chuckles at our blushes, coming over and placing three plates of bacon, eggs, a bit of chicken and beef steak in front of us (the third being hers) and a plate of plain three pieces of brown toast with butter in another spot.

I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Damian. Jenny’s morning eggs, bacon, chicken and beef are only second best to Kelly’s. To have us eating them while he’s stuck with just toast was a harsh punishment for his wife to give.

Putting those thoughts aside, I scoop up some eggs and start to eat, blocking out the girls as they start to bicker over how much Damian had messed up this time.

Their bantering only stopped when I leaped out of my seat, hurried over to the bin and spat the beef out with disgust.

Both stared at me as I quickly grabbed a glass, filled it with water and chugged it down.

“What’s up?” Jenny asked, perplexed. “I thought you really liked beef.”

“I do,” I say, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, still trying to get the taste off my lips. “I just... I dunno what happened there.”

It was the most bizarre thing. Normally I really like beef, it’s not one of my favourite meats, but I still enjoy it, yet the moment I’d put some of that beef into my mouth my gag reflex went off like I’d shoved my fingers down my throat.

I return to the table, trying to ignore the looks from the two girls as I take some of my chicken and bacon while pushing my beef to the side of my plate.

The chicken tasted great. Not as good as I normally feel towards chicken, but still tasty. And the bacon was heavenly. Then again, it rarely isn’t, being one of my favourite meats and all.

“Ben?” the concern in both their voices makes me look over my shoulder. They both look really worried. Probably about the beef.

Kelly stands, her gaze fixed on me. “Is something wrong?”

I shake my head, laying my cutlery on the table. “No bloody idea. I normally really like beef. Why would it make me gag now?”

Jenny frowns. “But... ours are just fine.”

I shrug. “Well, I didn’t gag on the chicken or bacon, so my body couldn’t have suddenly decided I’m vegetarian, could it? I’d have gagged on them too, if that was the case.”

They both nod, though look unsure.

Suddenly my mobile starts ringing. It's an unlisted number. I answer it, saying, "Hello?"

"Happy twenty-fifth, man!" a voice shouts from the other end, causing me to hold the phone back a bit.

I grin. "Thanks, Tom." Then I frown. "Isn't it almost midnight over there?"

He chuckles. "Yeah, but then I knew you wouldn't be up for a while, so just decided I'd wish you happy birthday before I hit the sack."

I was thankful for the call, it had lighted the mood that had settled after the strange no-longer-being-able-to-eat-beef thing.

"Thanks, man," I say, sitting back. "Guessing you don't wanna talk much right now though, huh?"

He chuckles as he yawns. "Yeah. Still got a few exams before I'll know if I get into uni. Been going flat out the last few days."

I nod. "Well, good luck, man. I know you'll get through."

"Yeah," he yawns, followed by the sound of someone talking in the background. "Alright, Jake, I'm almost done. Sorry, man. Gotta go. have a good day, right and say hi to Kelly for me."

"Will do, Dinky," I say, ending the call and looking to Kelly. "Tom says hi."

We finish breakfast, myself leaving my beef alone and just focusing on the eggs, bacon and chicken.

Once breakfast is dealt with, I head over to the computer and continue with where I left off the other night. Since Kelly can’t legally leave her brother alone until tomorrow, we’ll just hang around the house.

As the day passes I finalize our plans for the vacation. I’m really looking forward to visiting American Jewellery and Loan tomorrow. During day, Jenny made some muffins and passed them around.

I blushed as I glanced at the two she’d left for me and saw they were blueberry, remembering what Kelly had told me I shouted last night. I turn my attention to the computer... only to find it drifting towards the two muffins sitting next to me.

I lick my lips. They sure do look tasty. And Jenny did make them for me, even if she only went with blueberry as a joke in regards to last night.

I take one and bite into it.

“Mommy, are blueberry muffins really your favourite?” Dinky asks as she scuffs a hoof against the kitchen floor.

I squint. I know that look. It’s the “I did something without your permission but hope you won’t get mad at me” look.

However, I decide to play along, giving her a smile. “Yes, muffin. They’re my absolute favourite. Ever since my daddy gave me my first blueberry muffin, they’ve always been my favourite. Why do you ask?”

She give that look again, before her horn glows, levitating a plate from the kitchen, which she is still trying to keep me from entering.

On the plate is what kind of looks like a muffin, if a little flat and saggy looking. I can see a bunch of blueberries have just been thrown into it higgledy piggledy.

I blink, all previous thoughts stopping as I take the plate in a forehoof. I look to Dinky, who is keeping her head down, her ears flat against her head.

She... she’d made me a blueberry muffin.

I lift it up and take a bite, chewing. Once I’ve swallowed, I look back to my daughter, who keeps her eyes from meeting mine.

“So... how was it?” she asks in a very small voice.

I move forward and pull her into a warm hug. “That was the best blueberry muffin I’ve ever had,” I say, nuzzling her.

I feel her relax in my grip and she returns my hug.

While most probably would’ve said it hadn’t tasted that good since the recipe clearly hadn’t been followed properly, I had loved it. Dinky made that muffin just for me.

The kindness of that alone made it the best muffin I’d ever had and filled me with love and pride.

“Ben? Be-en? Hey, snap out of it, will ya?”

I blink, shaking my head vigorously.

Jenny is standing next to me, confusion on her face.

I rub my eyes. Man, that was weird.

I look to Jenny. The confusion has suddenly turned into a sly grin. “Brace yourself.”

Though I’m still a little groggy after recovering from... whatever that was, the words and tone she used register only a second before I’m bowled over by a pair of cheering voices.

“Uncle Ben!” Sally and Mark cheer as they laugh on top of me.

I roll my eyes. I’d given up two years ago on correcting them that, since Kelly and I weren’t actually married yet, I wasn’t their uncle and just ran with it.

“And how are my favourite niece and nephew?” I asked, ruffling their hair.

They pull off, grinning.

Mark looks a lot like his dad, brown hair, green eyes and a childish face that reminds you of that guy who played Kevin in first two Home Alone movies.

Sally, who is two years younger than her brother, who is nine, looks more like Kelly, oddly enough, the only real difference being their eyes. While Kelly has blue eyes, Sally has hazel.

Sally is bouncing up and down, her smile wide as can be. “You won’t believe it! Look what Billy Johnson from school gave me for my birthday!”

I should note Sally’s birthday was two days ago. She and I would be sort of sharing a party together, since mine was today.

She reached into her bag and pulls out something that makes me pause. It’s a plush toy, like the ones those girls had been playing with on my flight here.

It’s an orange one, with a blonde mane and tail, both tied back. Those things are everywhere.

I grin. “I saw two girls on the plane with horses like that.”

To my surprise, Sally frowns. “They’re not horses, they’re ponies.”

I blink back at her. Ponies? Okay, so that’s the type of equine. But a pony Pegasus?

I slowly nod. “I’ve seen those around, on the plane, even think I spotted a few in one of the stories in the airport while I waited for my plane. What’re they from?”

Jenny isn’t the one who answers, but Sally, who starts off with a loud squeeing sound I wasn’t even sure humans could make. “Uncle Ben, are you thinking of being a Brony?”

I cock my head. “Brony?”

Jenny sighs and briefly explains to me about a revap of the show My Little Pony, which I’d heard a little bit about (that being the original) back when I was a kid. Being a boy, I’d avoided anything pony or really girlish, so the fact I knew nothing about this made sense to me.

She explained how a woman by the name of Lauren Faust, I woman I knew for being involved in shows like Powerpuff Girls (a show I’d enjoyed despite it’s girliness because of the action), Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends and even the movie The Iron Giant, which I still had the VHS copy of back home.

What I did not expect was the talk about how the revap of the show had been designed so parents could watch it without pulling their hair out, and how it had gone so far that a fanbase had formed of guys and girls, well beyond seven and such ages.

With each bit of info, I felt more confused.

Thankfully, Kelly comes down and saves me when the two hurry to greet their favourite aunt.

That night, as I lie in bed with Kelly, I can’t help but frown as I stare up at the ceiling. I had a nagging feeling in the back of my brain, but I couldn’t figure it out. It was there just enough for me to notice it, but every time I turned my attention to it, it disappeared.

The sound of Kelly sighing in her sleep makes me shake it off as just my mind trying to wind down for my vacation as well as the confusing part of finding myself with tattoos I knew I hadn’t had before today.

Pushing it aside, I close my eyes and go to sleep.

___________________________________________________________

I grunt as I wake. I’d had that dream again, the one I’d had back on the plane. I frown as I take note that it was the same. Like before, I don't remember everything that happened in it, but some pieces remained, different from last time though, like puzzle pieces.

The same dream, yet I hadn’t really known about My Little Pony Friendship is Magic until yesterday. How did I have a dream about it before knowing about it?

The dream last night was understandable, I’d been talking with Sally and Mark about it and it must have stuck in my mind. Though the context of my dream didn’t match anything else aside from the ponies.

Shortly after we get up and have breakfast. I notice Mark and Sally are sitting in the living room watching something, when I ask what Sally tells me that Discovery Family is having a My Little Pony Marathon.

I left them to it. Part of me was curious, but I was going to go by the rule “curiously killed the cat” and just focus on what Kelly and I planned for today.

An hour later we’re walking into the place itself, American Jewellery and Loan.

I grinned at Kelly, who just rolled her eyes, smiling. We walked inside and I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. Everything looked like in the show.

Looking around, I saw Seth Gold standing behind a counter, his tall frame and near-bald shaved head the same as always. I was about to move towards him to say hi, when I noticed Les, his dad, walk out. He came over to Seth and murmured something into his ear.

The worried expression I only just noticed Seth wearing grew more worried.

I glanced at Kelly, who shrugged.

Shrugging myself, I move towards them, intending to ask what was wrong, when I caught what they were saying.

“... the doctor says he doesn’t know what’s happening,” Les was saying quietly, the worry of a man for someone close to him in his tone. “He’s even checked Ashley’s DNA. ”

“And?” Seth asked, his voice tense.

“It’s changing,” Les said, sounding at a loss.

“Changing?”

“He says she’s still got her own DNA, but that it’s changing into something he can’t identify.”

“Is it cancer?” the tightness in his voice hurt to hear.

Les shook his head. “He doesn’t think so, but he still has no idea what it is.”

Seth growled. “Why is this happening to her? All of this after those stupid marks appeared on her thighs.”

I stop, feet away as those words process through my mind. Marks appearing on her thighs?

I hurried the rest of the way forward. Both of them seemed to notice me and put on their business men faces. They faded however when I stopped, pressing my palms on the counter.

“When did they appear?” They both blink, looking confused. “The marks on Ashley’s thighs, when did they appear?” Whatever was happening to Ashley Gold, if it started after marks suddenly appeared on her thighs, it might happen to me too.

At once, both of their postures changed.

“Excuse me?” Les asked, his voice holding a firmness that annoyed me. It was the tone he’d use whenever a customer was basically being an idiot and not agreeing with the answers they got. Still, he stood tall, despite his old age. You'd think a guy with barely any hair couldn't be intimidating, especially when he's shorter than you, but I still felt small compared to him.

I glanced around, thankful none of the security guards had noticed yet. I had a feeling this was something they shouldn’t hear.

“The marks on her thighs, did they appear yesterday?” I asked.

If they weren’t tense before, they were now.

I sighed, noticing one of the guards, one of the big guys with a beard, I couldn’t remember his name, started coming towards us.

“I think it’s happening to me too,” I said, lowering my voice. They both frowned as they glanced at each other. “Yesterday, when my girlfriend and I woke up, I had markings I knew hadn’t been there before on my thighs."

"How can we tell you're telling the truth?" Seth asks, looking at me shrewdly.

I roll my eyes. "Seth, please, why would a guy just come up to you and claim he has markings on his body he just woke up with if he wasn't serious? Please, I might be able to figure something out if I can confirm if your daughter’s going through the same as me.”

They stood for a few moments, enough time for the security guy to reach us and stand behind me. Won’t lie, I felt a little nervous knowing he was behind me. Ya see people being taken out of this place by them on TV, but knowing it might happen to you can make you feel really uneasy, and the black hoodie he was wearing didn't make my any less nervous.

After an agonizingly long time, Les nodded, saying, “Okay. Come back with us.”

To my relief and surprise, Les opened the small gate separating the store from the back counter. I nod to Kelly, indicating for her to wait and follow him. I guess Seth remained on the floor so he could keep an eye on the store.

I follow Les towards his office, but stop when I see his daughter at one of the Redeems windows and frown. Didn't they say Ashley had woken with markings? If so, why was she working and not trying to figure those markings out. My confusion grows when Les calls to her and she gets up, following me and her father to his office, where, once inside, Ashley closes the door.

Les turns once it’s closed and folds his arms as he looks sternly at me. “So, what do you know?”

I hesitate. Not quite how I wanted this to go. I wanted to first learn if Ashley was similar to me in finding markings on her, but it seemed I’d have to explain myself first.

I quickly introduced myself, giving them a brief description of my life, then explained how I’d woken up the other morning with bubble marks (at this point I lowered my pants enough on either side for them to see both identical marks), after having strange dreams that didn’t make sense and that I couldn't quite remember and involved a white mist.

Once I’d finished, they looked at each other, then back at me. “And you’ve no idea how this started?” Ashley asks, walking up from behind me and standing next to her dad.

I shake my head. “I swear, I just woke up with them. But, how come Ashley's right here? With those markings causing so much worry, I'd have thought she'd be at home.”

They both blink, before Ashley chuckles. "Wait. You thought I was the one with the marks? No, it's another of our employees who has them. Her name just happens to be named Ashley too, Ashley Wales. Since she's not in today, I was handling things at her window."

I blink, before mentally slapping myself in the forehead. Oh, that Ashley. After the Golds had found out one of their employees working the windows had been pocketing stuff for herself, they'd had her fired and arrested. Ashley Wales had been her replacement. Jeez, the small things you forget when weird shit with random markings appearing on your body happens.

"So, what exactly happened?" I ask once I've finished inwardly beating myself up for being so dense.

They glance at each other again, before Les spills.

“Three days ago we celebrated Ashley’s twenty-fifth birthday—” Wait. Twenty-fifth? On my Twenty-fifth this all started. Was there a connection? “—When she got up the next morning, she’d found odd marks on both her thighs.”

“They both looked like a balloon animal, a dog, with streamers coming from behind it,” Ashley interjected. “Does that sound familiar to you?”

In all honesty, no, it didn’t, so I shook my head after saying, “Aside from finding a mark suddenly on the thighs.”

After a bit more discussion, we agreed to all go and see Ashley. If she really was going through something similar to whatever had started happening to me, maybe we could figure out a connection between the two of us, then find the way to fix this.

Ashley agrees to take time off for the day and leads me out of the office towards the entrance. I tilt my head to tell Kelly to follow and she does so.

We all get into Ashley’s car and she drives us towards Ashley’s place. It’s an apartment building painted white. We follow her to the ninth floor and head for one of the apartment, Apartment G4.

She knocks on the door and I hear some movement from within. “Wh-who is it?” a voice calls.

I blink. Her voice sounds like she’s been crying. I can tell Ashley is worried by this from the look on her face.

“Ash, it’s Ashley,” she says, anxious, though I inwardly can't but chuckle at how that sounded. “I’ve brought someone who thinks they’re going through the same thing you are.”

At once the sound of locks frantically being unlocked starts, before the door in flung open.

What I see makes my eyes widen and Kelly gasp. The person in the doorway is clearly Ashley Wales, of that I have no doubt, but she’s changed so much that it would be hard for anyone that didn’t know her, personally or from Hardcore Pawn, to recognize her.

Her hair is not the long, silky blonde I was accustomed to from the show. Instead it was blue, with a few stripes of a much lighter-blue through it and it was poofy. Her eyes had changed from their brown colour to purplish-blue that I’m fairly certain is not possible in the human genome for a human eye to be.

However, it’s what atop her head and hanging from behind her that has my utmost attention. Hair the same colour as that on her head, and just as poofy, is hanging below her waist. Atop her head are what look like pony ear, covered in a very light-blue, almost teal, fur, and, on her forehead, a large bump, that could easily been mistaken for a horn, the same colour as her ears.

Her eyes go from Ashley, who’s staying in shock at the woman’s appearance, to Kelly and me. They narrowed in anger. “Which of you did this to me?”

The tone in her voice seems to snap Ashley out of her stupor and she quickly standing between her and us. “Whoa. Easy there. They didn’t do anything. This man overheard Dad an’ Seth talking about you and he thought it sounded like something he’d just started going through.”

“Oh, really?!” she snaps, her glare burning me, even through the woman standing in front of her. “So he used to be female too, did he?”

Wait. What?

Ashley is clearly as confused by that question as I am, because she asks, “Ash, what the hell are you talking—?”

Before I realize what’s happening, Ashley drops her pants right then and there. What the three of us see makes two of us (the one who’d known her since her started employment at American Jewelery and Loan and the one who’d watched the show) gape, not able to really process what we’re seeing.

Where Ashley should’ve had the great dividing range that all women have, she instead had a man’s phallus, coloured the same as her pony ears. No, not a man's, it's too big for that. My eyes widen as my bio-classes resurface. It's a horse's cock! What the hell?

For several long moments the four of us all stand in silence, none of us sure what to say. Finally, my senses catch up with me and I thought crosses my mind to either ease the tension, or at least make the air less hostile.

“Have you been having dreams?”

At once Ashley’s tough and anger exterior shows a crack. “Wh-what?”

I sigh. “Last night, and the night before, I had dreams where I was a pony, right before I found markings on my thighs. I don't quite remember all of it, only bits and pieces, but I still remember them. Have you had any dreams like that in the last few days?”

She crumples right then and there and it’s only mine and Ashley’s quick reflexes that stop her from hitting the floor.

“Let’s get her inside,” Ashley grunts and we start moving her inside.

“Kelly, close the door,” I say as we pass through the doorway. She follows us in, doing just that.

When Ashley wakes up, we’ll hopefully be able to get some answers out of her.

Author's Note

and that's chapter 2

Now, obviously, if you have not watched Hardcore Pawn before, or visited American Jewelery and Loan yourself, you probably are confused about a lot of things. for that, i recommend either watching the show or visiting the store yourself. to try explaining it all in the fic just wouldn't be right.

So, Ben knows he's not the only one who woke up with odd markings. How much more will his circumstances have in common with Ashley's? You'll have to wait and see.

For the record, the Ashley turning into a pony is a fictional character, i am not basing her off of anyone form the reality show.

Til next time, later everypony

Chapter 3

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I stop, looking around the village in fear. Everypony is gone. None of them are left.

I am the only one who remains.

My only comforting thought is that Discord only got a few of us. Night Glider had gotten most of the villagers away, while the rest of us, the stallions mostly, tried to do our best to avoid the monster while the other mares and foals tried to get away. I have no idea where Night Glider is now, she's probably miles away.

“I’ve gotta get to Ponyville,” I say, shaking my head. “If I can get to Princess Twilight, maybe she’ll know what to do.” I also have to see if Derpy and her daughters are alright.

A boisterous laugh comes from behind me and I whirl around to see Discord standing over me, grinning.

“Oh, I’m afraid Princess Twilight can’t help you now, my little pony,” he leers. “She and her friends were some of the first I sent and now it’s your turn.”

I try to run, turn to get away, when I felt a finger suddenly press down on my forehead, right below my horn.

I scream in pain as a white mist surrounds me and feel myself seeming to disappear within it.

As everything faded away, I hear Discord’s voice.

“Five score divided by four,

Your memories removed, your body confused!

For your insolence you must pay,

Cast off to a land far, far away!

I've scattered the six, and that's just the start of my tricks,

Your mind shall be weak, your outlook bleak!

Forgetting everything and living like a fool,

You have all lost, now no one can stop my rule!”

___________________________________________________________

I stared at Ashley as she twiddled with the mug of coffee Ashley had made her. We were sitting in her living room, a small area, but comfy, with beanbags around and a TV in the corner that you could even watch from the kitchen if you wanted.

While from another pony’s perspective than the one from my own dream, hers had sounded so similar, though she seemed to remember the whole thing, whilst I only had bits and pieces of mine. This Discord, whoever he was, was in my dream too, of that I do remember, and had clearly been doing the same thing to those living in that village before doing so to whomever Ashley had seen from the perspective off.

“Sound familiar?” she asks, her voice crooked and deeper than when we’d arrived. She started crying the moment she’d woken up in her room (we’d pulled her pants back up when we’d laid her down, to be polite) and Ashley had spent several minutes trying to comfort her, before she’d finally come out and, after some discussion, told us her dream, right after I told her and Seth mine.

Her voice had changed since we’d arrived. It was now more masculine, though it wasn’t until we told her this that she’d noticed herself, oddly enough.

I nod, back. This couldn’t be a coincidence. Two people having dreams involving them seeing from someone else’s perspective, involving someone with the same name being the cause of fear and panic? They had to be connected somehow.

When asked how she remembered the whole dream when I only had pieces to work with, she told me she'd been having these dreams for a lot longer than after the changes had started. She'd been having them for months and had decided to start writing down everything she could remember whenever she woke up, eventually leading to her having the whole dream.

“It’s clearly happening to both of us,” she said, indicating to me.

I nod, taking note of my now longer hair swishing as I do so. Whilst we’d waited for Ashley to wake up, Ashley had told me my hair was getting longer and I had some blonde streaks that hadn’t been there before.

A quick look in the bathroom mirror had confirmed it, among the mousy-blonde hair I’d had for years now had streaks of pure blonde through it. Not only that, but my eyes had changed colour. Now, instead of the bluish-green eyes I’d been born with, I had golden eyes. Like with the Ashley asleep in her room right now, I knew damn well a human eye should not be able to be that colour naturally.

While waiting, we’d also taken note of the many balloon things Ashley had lying around the house for whatever reason, including a balloon remote, coffee maker and phone.

It had taken some convincing from Ashley for the girl to trust us, but after I showed her my markings and Ashley confirmed to her that she'd actually seen my eyes change colour, right before her own, she had decided given us the benefit of the doubt. Now, after telling her everything that had happened to me since yesterday, she trusted me enough.

Aside from the change Ashley had shown as down below, she also showed that her feet had changed. Now, instead of feet, she had what were clearly hooves, covered in a fur the same colour as her ears. The fur from her hooves reached all the way up her legs and it seemed her pelvis and legs had taken on a more equine look.

She’d then gone into her kitchen at one point before telling her dream and fixed things I couldn’t help noticing was stuff you’d feed a horse. A quick glance at Ashley and he’d told me she’d shrugged, suggesting maybe Ashley had been planning on taking up horse riding in her spare time and had bought some food for them to have as treats, like alfalfa pellets.

However, the changing Ashley had poured some for herself, causing all of us to raise an eyebrow, which she’d quietly admitted she couldn’t explain, but had started craving something like them, even going so far as to say in a voice she must’ve thought too quiet for us to hear, “Wish we had some hay, too.”

Despite all the equine food she was eating, none of us could help noticing she was a lot slimmer than when the three of us had arrived. Her body was curving. She'd always had a bit of a rotund body when she'd first been employed and brought onto the show, but her body had slimmed down alarmingly fast since we'd arrived. It was also clearly harder for her to walk and the thing I’d thought was a horn was a lot bigger and was proving to definitely be a horn.

What shocked all of us, though none more so than Ashley herself, was when her horn had lit with a purplish-blue light, the same colour as her new eyes, followed by a glass being shrouded in a similar light and floating into the air as she’d come back.

The moment she’d noticed it the glow faded and the glass smash to the floor. When she tried to pick it up, it seemed her fingers were stiff and she confessed it felt harder to use them.

Sadly, aside from the ponies, fear of a creature named Discord and fading away into a white mist-like thing whilst hearing Discord saying some kind of rhyme, we couldn’t see anything that connected or explained our dreams and the only other connection was that we'd both recently turned twenty-five.

After concluding that we wouldn’t be getting very far today, and after noticing it was 3pm, Kelly and I decided we should had back to her sister’s house.

We gave Ashley and Ashley our names and Jenny’s address, telling them if anything else happens to come over as soon as possible.

They thank us for taking the time to come over, Ashley thanking me for letting her know this wasn’t just her it was happening to, and we took our leave.

When we get back it’s almost 4pm. The kids were still sitting in front of the TV and when I ask what’s on, they tell me it’s the show they told me about the other day, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

I turn to the screen, and I my eyes widen in shock.

A Pegasus had just flown onto the screen, asking what was she going to do. She was grey, with a blonde mane and tail and mismatched golden eyes. However, it’s the bubbles on her flank that look just like the marks on my thighs that pull my attention.

I focus on her, watching carefully. She was a bit of a klutz, but seemed like a sweet character, all the same.

Sally, seeing I’m watching, suddenly starts explaining the character, Derpy Hooves is her name, (apparently her official name is Muffins, but none called her that, despite this) to me as we watch, explaining her origins straight from her first episode where she spoke, which she mentions was back in season two.

Apparently she’d been born from the fandom. She’d been an animation error, her eyes weren’t meant to be the way they were, but the bronies had created a whole character for her from that one error.

Derpy, along with being a bit of a sweet hearted klutz, was a single mother, with two unicorn daughters, one a pink one who already had her Cutie Mark, as I found the marks on their flanks was called, the other being a filly that looked sort of like Derpy, with a grey coat with a slightly purple tinge to it, though sharing her mother’s mane, tail and eye colour, who didn’t have a Cutie Mark yet.

It was as she explained this, while I still stood, my eyes fixed on the screen despite Derpy having left it already and several episodes having gone by, then Jenny asked something I didn’t expect.

“Uncle Ben, why’re you standing like that?”

I’m snapped out of my stupor by the odd question and look down, only to frown. She had a right to ask. For some reason I’ve lifted my heels off the floor. I force myself to put them back down, but for some odd reason my brain tells me that’s wrong, despite it being how I’d always stood.

It’s clear I can’t stop it, however, for as soon as I stopped focusing on it, my heels went right back up.

Sally blinks, then cheers. “Uncle Ben, your hairs even longer and it’s almost all blonde!”

I frown, lifting my hands to my head and feeling down it. She’s right. My hair has grown longer, much longer. It’s near my shoulders now and I can feel it’s grown on my neck too, almost like a mane.

“Oh,” Mark said, sounding unenthused as he looks at the screen. “It’s the finale.”

Jenny’s happy demeanor drops as her shoulder sag. “Yeah. But I guess we should watch it.”

I raise an eyebrow. This two had talked this show up so much. Why were they so not looking forward to the finale? Then again, who doesn’t no look forward to when a show they enjoy reaches its end?

Since dinner won’t be for a few more minutes, I decide to watch the finale with them, maybe see just why they like the show so much.

However, my gut turned in my stomach shortly after the season finale starts. Discord, who’d been reformed back in season three and then more so in the season four finale (Sally and Mark briefly explained), suddenly turned around, revealing himself as having fooled them all and banishes all the ponies using some white mist.

While the analytical part of my brain is trying to tell me, from the point of a regular viewer, it did suck for a finale, there was no reasonable explanation as to why Discord stopped being good and turned his back on everyone he cared about and banished everyone away, it really tried, I was holding myself because the white mist reminded me of my dream and what Ashley had told me of hers, causing shivers down my spine.

The similarities were too eerie.

“Was it really that scary?”

I jump at the voice, turning around to see Kelly and Jenny giving me odd looks.

I get up, shaking my head. “Not the show itself, no. The similarities it had with mine and Ashley’s dreams, however, hell yeah.”

Both their expressions change as they glance at each other.

“We’ll talk after dinner,” Kelly says, Jenny ushering her kids into the kitchen.

I nod as I follow her, trying to ignore the weirdness of walking on the front of my feet, despite my brain telling me, for whatever reason, that it was normal.

___________________________________________________________

“So, you’re saying you think there’s a connection between a kids’ show and what’s happening to you and Ashley?” Jenny asked, the skepticism clear in her voice.

I nod, my expression firm. “After seeing what state Ashley was in and comparing our dreams and their similarities, along with what happened in the season five finale, I’m thinking there’s some kind of connection.”

“He has a point, Jenny,” Kelly backs me up. “We saw Ashley. After comparing everything, and how Ben is now, it’s hard not to notice the similarities.”

I swish my tail and flick my ears for emphasis.

Around eight I’d felt something pocking hard inside my trousers. Standing up and glancing back it had looked like I had a huge case of hemorrhoids. Upon pulling my pants back a bit, however, a long blonde tail had fallen out, the same colour my hair had now completely become.

Along with my tail my ears had changed to the same as Ashley’s, only the fur on mine were a light grey as opposed to very light-blue, almost teal. It was odd, feeling bare skin where my human ears used to be.

I look down at the table, my expression grim. “If I hadn’t even seen that season finale, I never would’ve connected them, but the way it ends is very similar to what both of us felt and experienced in our dreams. And neither Ashley, as far as I know, or I, had even heard of Friendship is Magic before those dreams started.”

“I... well...” Jenny looked away, scratching her neck. She was clearly trying to think of an argument against what I’d said.

I lean back, running my hair through my mane. What else am I gonna call it? It’s more than just hair now, so mane will have to do.

I was so tired. Kelly had looked up the Cutie Mark Ashley had and it turned out it was from, as was sort of expected with what she’d shown us, a stallion. He was a unicorn by the name of Party Favor. He’d only appeared in the first two episodes of season five, and only in the last few minutes of the second half of the second episode had he gotten his Cutie Mark and revealed his special talent was in making anything out of balloons, demonstrating it in the show by first making a pair of binoculars and then a whole bridge.

Upon learning this, I’d remembered all the balloon things we’d seen at Ashley’s place when we’d been looking around. Seemed she’d tried a hand at Party’s special talent.

“So, are you worried?”

I glanced at Jenny, eyebrow raised. “About what?”

She sighed. “Think about it. Ashley was a woman and Party Favor was a stallion. After getting his Cutie Mark, she got his equipment.”

I cock my eyebrow a bit higher, not getting her meaning.

She sighs again. “Well, if Ashley was a woman, then, after getting Party Favor’s Cutie Mark, got a man’s works down there, what about you?”

I still don’t follow.

She rolls her eyes. “You’re a dude and you have Derpy Hooves Cutie Mark and she’s a mare, as in female. If Ashley went from a girl to a guy because the Cutie Mark she got came from a stallion and you’re a guy who got the Cutie Mark of a mare, what do you think that means for you?”

I blink as I go over what she’s just said— before my face whitens as my hands fly down to my crotch and I squeeze my legs together.

She nods. “Yeah. And, since Ashley started her transformation a day before you, this being her third day since it started, and you’re third day is gonna be tomorrow...”

“It’ll be gone by tomorrow,” I say quietly. I’m not exactly panicked by the idea, when I was a little boy, I’d always wanted to be a girl, but had grown out of the idea as I grew up. Still, the idea that something I’d had since I was a child was going to vanish made me uneasy. It would any guy... aside from a transgender, I guess.

I sigh, pulling my hands back and getting up. “I’m going to bed.”

Author's Note

And chapter three's done.

So, now Ben has a mane and tail and ears similar to Ashley. How much longer until he's all pony and what's gonna happen with Ashley tommorow?

you'll have to wait and see.

Til next time, later everypony

Chapter 4

___________________________________________________________

I sigh as I walk into the nursery and find it an utter mess, foal clothing, diapers and powders all over the place. I glance around the room and see a small cloth moving around the room, gurbling sounds coming from underneath it.

I give a small smile and walk over, picking up the cloth underneath to reveal the little purple-grey unicorn foal with a blonde mane and tail and golden eyes.

She looks up at me, an innocent smile on her face as she lifts up her forelegs.

I giggle and pick her up, nuzzling her. “Oh, Dinky,” I giggle. “What am I going to do with you?”

Her only reply is to babble foal talk at me, holding my muzzle in her hooves.

___________________________________________________________

I grunt as I wake up. I move my arms closer to hold my child— but she’s not there!

I sit up quickly, my mind filling with panic as I glance around frantically for my foal.

I blink, shaking my head and putting a hand to my forehead. “What the...? Why did I think...?”

I hear a small moan from next to me and turn to see Kelly. Smiling, I put what just happened out of my mind and lay down again, pulling her towards me. However, her area brushes over my area and I flinch, feeling a jolt shoot through me upon the contact down there.

Apparently she felt something similar, because her eyes shot wide open and she stares at me as I shift back a bit.

“Um... Ben?” she says, looking uncertainly at me. “I think you’ve...”

I close my eyes nodding. I could feel it now. My happy little soldier was gone.

...

Okay, please forget I just referred to my now non-existent body piece as my happy little soldier.

Along with my new female groin, i realize something about my chest and the above area of my groin. My nipples have vanished from my chest and have reappeared above my new lady parts. They're a bit bigger though. I now have teats.

I turn away from Kelly and push the covers off me to go have a shower. As I move my legs, however, I notice my feet are gone too.

Before going to bed last night my middle toe had been larger than the others and the nail had seemed thicker. Now, however, I had no feet at all. They were hooves, covered in a fur the same colour as my ears and my heels seem to have come up my legs.

I have a little trouble standing up on hooves, the displacement my feet always provided being gone now, but manage to make my way to the bathroom, get into the shower and turn it on, letting the hot water cascade down over me.

When I get out of the shower (drying myself had been a little hard down below, damn I was sensitive in that area), I move to put on a shirt, when a slight tug on my brain tells me it would be a bad idea.

I frown, not understanding why I thought this, but decided to go with my gut, as it rarely was wrong, especially when I went against it; I just put on some jeans (which I’d cut a hole into the back of for my tail) before heading down for breakfast.

The others are enjoying pancakes with either maple syrup, ice cream, jam, honey or just butter with sugar. I sit down at tuck into my own, noticing my fingers are feeling a bit stiff. My teeth feel different too, more pony-like, I guess.

A few minutes after we’ve started eating, frantic knocking comes from the door.

All our heads turn to it, before I give Kelly and Jenny a glance, to which they nod.

I get up, wobbling a little as I make my way to the door. The moment I open it I’m bowled over by a teal pony. I land on my back, wincing as my tail is stretched, the pony lying on top of me.

We both gaze at each other for several moments, him looking shocked, as I looked back with equal emotion.

Our staring contest is broken by a loud squeal, before Sally bowls into the pony, knocking him off of me, shouting, “It’s Party Favor!”

I manage to push myself up to see Ashley standing in the doorway, looking at me with shock.

"What? You knew this would happen to me."

Once I’m standing straight again, I turn to my niece holding onto the unicorn stallion, who’s expression clearly says he’ll need oxygen again soon.

“Sally.” My tone tells her to let go and she does, though she keeps grinning as she looks at the unicorn in front of her.

“So,” Ashley says as she comes in, her eyes on me, “I see you weren’t kidding about when you said what’s happening to my employee is happening to you, too.”

I sigh, folding my arms. “You knew I wasn't kidding yesterday, Ashley. And, let's face it, your employee has gone from a human woman to a unicorn stallion.”

“And what about you?” she asks, looking at me up and down.

I sigh again, unfolding my arms and scratching behind my head. “I’m in the same boat, just in the opposite.”

“You mean, while Ashley turned into a guy...?”

I nod. “I’m turning into a girl. Or rather, I’ve already got that equipment, so I guess I’m already a girl?”

I lead them into the living room, where I briefly explain my theory of what’s happening. Somehow, Discord and My Little Pony Friendship is Magic was real and in another dimension and when Discord banished the ponies he did back in the season five finale, he fused them with us and maybe more humans and now we were turning into them.

Ashley shook her head. “My friend and employee is now a dude and is a technicolour unicorn.” she puts a hand over her face. “That’s sounds so ridiculous, yet the evidence is staring me in the face.”

We talk for a while, eventually passing midday, Ashley agreeing that, since I’m going through a ponification too, the now unicorn Ashley should stay with us until we can figure out how to reverse this curse Discord has cast on us.

When I address unicorn Ashley, she asks me just to call him Ash now, since he’s not a girl anymore and, until we can fix this, thought it better not to use a girl’s name, so as not to make things a bit confusing.

During that time I change a lot more. During the talk Ash and I have finished off all the horse food stuff that she and her family had brought over for her to eat while here. We both found it tasted amazing.

Sally had pointed out my voice was starting to sound like Derpy's from the 100th episode, and I only noticed once she told me, just as Ash hadn’t noticed his voice changing back when he was a she.

I’d had to take off my jeans at one point, after the fur on my hooves had spread up to cover my legs, becoming itchy against my jeans and my pelvis seemed to have become like Ash’s, more equine and my fingers were getting harder and harder to use due to stiffness.

My gut had also proven to be right about leaving my shirt off, because I had what seemed to be the early startings of wings, mostly just feathers spreading from the centre of my back, going left and right. I clearly wouldn’t be flying with these any time soon.

I confused all of us when I said it would lightly rain in a few moments, only for it to happen shortly after the words left my mouth, but Sally explained that it was because I was turning into a Pegasus and pegasi could feel weather and I was just doing what pegasi naturally do.

“Why us, though?” Ash asks, turning to me, looking hopelessly lost. “Why’d he fuse them to us?”

“Knowing Discord, from what I’ve gathered of him from the show and the fandom,” I said, folding my arms and swishing my tail, “there probably wasn’t any real reason at all, Party. Or, if there was one, it’s so random or obscure or both, that we’d never be able to guess it in a million years.”

He glares at me. “Oh, so since I’m turning into this Party Favor pony you’re gonna call me his name now?”

I blink in confusion. “Huh? I didn’t...” a glance around me says otherwise. “You mean...” I slump a little, “I called him Party... without meaning to?”

Everyone’s expression’s, even Party’s, change to worry.

“You... didn’t even realize it?” he asks, getting off the couch and looking at me.

I shake my head.

He looks down. “Sorry, Derpy. I didn’t mean...” he looks up to see my worried expression has deepened. “What?”

“You... called me Derpy,” I whisper.

Silence descends for a long while, until Ashley gets up, saying she needs to head back to the pawn shop, she’d been gone from it so long already.

Ash looks sadly at her, silently begging her not to leave.

Ashley leans down and hugs him. “Don’t worry, Ash,” she says assuredly. “These guys seem alright and one of them can understand what it feels like what you’re going through.”

When she got up, she grinned. “If you need anything, even just to talk, call us, okay?”

Ash nods, sobbing a little as he wipes his eyes with his hooves.

We all stand on the porch and watch as Ashley drive off, heading back to the shop.

Once she's disappeared down the road, I lead Ash back into the living room, deciding to show him the pony he’d become. Thankfully, Netflicks has all five seasons, so it’s easy to get to the two episodes Party Favor appeared in.

During dinner, Ash half-heartedly points out that my face has pushed out like a pony’s and that my hands and neck are now covered in the same fur as on the rest of me.

Great. So now we can add fear of terrorist attacks next to turning into ponies on the Life is Going Downhill list.

After dinner the two of us talk for a while in the other guest room, where Jenny had set up for him to stay. He’s really scared, he has no idea what’s going to happen next.

I tell him I feel the same way. This kind of thing just didn’t happen in real life, and yet it was for us and we didn’t know why Discord had done this at all, the finale sure didn’t explain it, so we had no idea of Discord’s end game.

We all decide to turn in early, by which point almost all of my body was covered in grey fur, my face had a snout and my eyes were large, just like Ash’s, only as Derpy’s.

___________________________________________________________

The next day, two ponies are sitting on the living room couch, watching the first Derpy episode of My Little Pony. One is a teal unicorn stallion, the other, a grey Pegasus, me.

It’s early morning. The kid’s haven’t gotten up yet. The moment I woke up today I knew I’d become a full pony. There was no stopping it now, it had already happened. All we could hope was that we could find a way of changing back.

When I’d woken up I’d pulled myself out from within Kelly’s arms and gotten out of bed. I’d struggled to walk on four legs instead of two at first and keeping quiet while learning had been almost impossible, but I’d managed, somehow. Seeing had become harder too. I'd gotten used to see with only one eye, and it was clear Derpy did the same thing, thankfully with the same eye, but now said eye was able to see at nearly a full 340 degree arc, more like 220, really, causing me to feel dizzy.

I just stood for a long w hile, waiting for my centre of balance to adjust to my new eyesight, which took about a full half hour.

Once my world had somewhat centre, I hopped out of bed and went to get dressed, when I looked down at myself.

None of my human clothes were going to fit me anymore. They were designed for humans, not ponies. I sighed, realizing I’d likely been spending my time in this form walking around in the buff.

I decided to go have a shower, if only to clean the smell of what Kelly and I got up to last night away so nopony else would smell it, along with the stains on my fur from both of us. Despite my deciding to go to bed early, I’d ended up having it out with Kelly.

I had felt sorry for guys once I’d finished my first orgasm as a mare. Females get so much more amazing orgasms than guys, I’d never felt anything like it. When I turned back, that’d probably be something I’d miss. We’d gone at it for several hours and at the end of it had just fallen asleep in each other’s arms. I had no idea why, but my sex drive had been in overhaul since this transformation started.

Showering wasn’t really more than standing under the water and letting it pour over me. I was thankful Jenny and Damian had gotten taps that were hoof-friendly before this had started, made it much easier than if they were the turnable taps. It seemed to do the trick, at any rate, I didn’t smell of sex anymore.

I’d crept downstairs, (the progress was slow as I still adjusted to my new way of viewing the world) thinking I was the only one up, only to find Ash sitting on the couch, watching the TV. I was about to ask him what he was watching, when I heard the theme music. It was MLP.

I moved over and sat down next to him.

“Doing okay?” I asked, inwardly flinching at the sound of my voice. It just felt weird hearing somepony else’s voice coming from my own mouth.

He just nodded, not turning, his eyes still on the screen.

I decided I’d watch with him. Maybe watching the show our new bodies came from was his way of coping, now that he was full pony. Maybe it could help me too, since we were both in that boat now.

We were up for a while on our own and just gotten lost watching the show our new forms came from. I could honestly under why boys could get so into this. Despite it being for little girls, the characterizations, the plots and animation are quite impressive. Even the insert songs are good, something I know from personal experience of other shows with insert songs is a hard thing to make enjoyable and not make just ear torture.

As Derpy’s time in her episode ends, the sound of feet on the stairs makes me turn to see Sally skipping down. However, when she sees me, she goes stock still.

I flinch at that. Why’d she just stop like that? Ash notices too and we both look on anxiously as a strange expression comes over Sally’s face.

Suddenly she squeals and charges forward. We both leap, trying to get away, Ash succeeding, but she plows into me and pulls me into a tight head, rubbing her cheeks against mine.

“Oh, I’d hoped it was true when I saw your mane and fur and I was right! My Uncle Ben has become my Aunt Derpy! I have best pony as my aunt! Best. Day. EVER!”

I look to Ash, silently begging him for help.

He frowns, closing his eyes as his horn glows with his blue magical aura (as Sally and Mark had explained it to us yesterday), before said aura encompassed Sally and tried to pull her off me, only to lift her up and pull me with her.

“Party!”

“Sorry, sorry!” he says, letting go of his magic.

Thankfully, my wings seem to have muscle memory because they extend the moment the magic holding us stops and we drop and I gently lower us down to the ground.

Later that day, Ashley came over for a visit, still shocked when she see I’ve turned into Derpy Hooves.

I spend the day trying to figure out flight, with her, Kelly and Mark watching me. Thanks to my new eyesight, I’m more than a bit clumsy at it, flopping on my face every time I try to land after hover a bit into the air

Derpy’s eyes worked like mine in that, with them, I couldn’t properly see through my right eye. On rare occasions I’d actually gotten my new right eye to align with my left, but I still couldn’t see very well out of it even then. However, the magnification and the fact I now seemed able to see in a 220 degree arc had caused a lot of trouble. I had to keep focusing on the one eye I was using to see like I used to, only now, if I didn't focus, it kept causing me to feel like I was leaning to one side or the other, which, when in the air, caused me to drop like a rock. I'd need to get better control of this, or I'd keep feeling sea sick... or air sick, since I'll be trying to fly.

Flying was easier and harder than I’d expected. Despite the fact that my wings were too small to logically lift of pony of my size, just a few flaps had me several feet in the air, my unicorn comrade looking up in awe. I practiced a bit, flying around in circles and doing loops, wondering just why Derpy was portrayed as such a klutz. I’m not as clumsy a flyer as the show portayed back in The Last Round Up episode. Well, okay, I am still clumsy, but not as much as the show portrayed.

Heck, I would’ve made it into the Wonderbolts Reserves with Dash if I didn’t have to care for Dinky and her sister. I’m a mother. I don’t have time to just up and go to a camp and...

I blink, stopping where I am in midair and flapping in place. Had I just thought...? Where the hell did that all come from?

I head back down, realizing too late something I had yet to practice about perfected about flying: landing. I tumbled as I hit the ground, rolling head over hoof into the other end of the fence.

I hear the others calling to me, but it’s hard to focus with the sky being where the ground is supposed to be.

Once the world stopped spinning, I decided to stay on the ground and watched as Ash practiced with his magic and balloon talent, at one point making a mini-helicopter which he used to lift up off the ground, making me puff out my cheeks angrily. He was a unicorn and he was better at flying than I was.

He and I would have questioned how a balloon helicopter could fly was logically possible, but we’d kind of given up on logic by now. Logic didn’t explain why we’d turned into cartoon ponies from a little kids’ show due to one of its characters fusing as with two others from said show.

By the end of the day, after some coaxing from my fellow pony to try flying again, I’d gotten somewhat good at regular flight at least, though I still wobbled and tumbled in the air from time to time due to my eyes. Whether I’d be able to pull of anything fancy like Rainbow Dash does would have to wait for another day.

Party was getting better with his magic too. He’d figured out levitation pretty easily and had some still with magic bolts, which he’d almost hit me with several times during my flight training, as if trying to fly with my eyes wasn't hard enough I had to dodge magical bolts flying at me, but nothing else. He certainly isn’t going to be teleporting or making magical shields any time soon.

Later, after dinner, Kelly helped me shower, since I couldn’t do it properly in ours anymore, what with being a pony. As she scrubbed my wings I kept shuddering. It seemed we pegasi were really sensitive when it came to our wings and feathers.

Once I was showered I tried to help her in repayment for her helping me. I had to hold the scrub brush in my mouth, but I at least was able to help her wash her back.

Two hours later though I wasn’t lying in bed. I was sitting at the computer, looking to see if anypony else was going through this.

That’s one other thing that is worrying me. Kelly, Jenny, Mark, Damian and Sally had pointed out to both me and Ash that we seemed to keep referring to each other by the names or the ponies we’d become.

We’d both done double takes when they said this. We hadn’t noticed it but, looking back at the day, they were right. There were many times when I’d called Ash Party or Party Favor, and the same with him calling me Derpy. He’d even done so when he’d been coaxing me to try flight training after my multiple disastrous landing attempts.

I’d even, after looking it over, noticed we’d been using pronouns from the show as opposed to those we had before, such as somepony, anypony and so forth.

This honestly worried me. It was clear we’d finished changing physically, but what if that wasn’t the end? What if we were changing mentally too? What if we started actually thinking like the ponies Discord had fused us with? What if we actually started believing we were those ponies?

I shook my head, shaking the thoughts from my mind and continued searching. Thanks to Kelly, I was still able to use the computer despite my hooves. She’d wrapped some Velcro around my forehooves and attached pencils to them, so I could type. Moving the mouse with a hoof and clicking were relatively simple.

I’d spent several all of those two hours searching for anypony I could that was going through what Party— I mean Ash and I were going through.

Aside from a tweet of someone saying they’d woken up with a Cutie Mark several days ago (which, after messaging the person, found out they’d been joking, saying I was the second person to believe them), I hadn’t found anything.

I groan, leaning back in my chair and rub my hooves through my mane. This was getting me nowhere. Aside from theories based on pretty much nothing, we nothing explaining why we had turned into ponies or how to change back.

“Nothing, huh?” I turn my neck (I am still amazed out how my new pony neck can turn the way it does) and see Ash stepping towards me from the living room.

I sigh, turning back to the computer and nodding. “Aside from some jerk who said that they woke up with a Cutie Mark as a joke, nothing.”

The stallion next to me snorts. “Hmm. Yeah. Really funny joke. I’m laughing my flank off over here.”

I nod. I hadn’t been too pleased about it either. That person had obviously thought it was hilarious, but this was no joking matter for us. We literally had woken up with Cutie Marks and now we physically had (and maybe starting mental to) become the ponies who’s Cutie Mark we bore.

After a few moments, I noticed a scent in the air I hadn’t before. It was musky. I felt I knew that smell, but couldn’t figure out where from. Ignoring it, and deciding I was too tired to keep searching the net for something I might not even ever find, I bid Party goodnight and turned to leave, flicking my tail as I went, only vaguely aware of it hitting something as I trotted back to mine and Kelly’s room.

For the first night since this started, I just flop on the bed and pass out, embracing the soft mattress as it lulls me to sleep. It’s not as good as the clouds I'd slept on back in Cloudsdale as a filly... but it’s good enough.

Author's Note

So, the transformation is physically complete. But how much will Ash and Ben, or rather Party and Derpy's mind be affected? And was that smell Derpy noticed before heading for bed?

Found out, or maybe not, next chapter.

Note: For a point of reference, the next chapter will be set just before, during and after the Rainboom.

Til next time, later everypony

Chapter 6

___________________________________________________________

I’m flying over Ponyville, trying to see if anypony is lagging behind. Sparkler and the Mayor are doing what they can to get everypony out, but eyes in the skies can help a lot. Less than half the town has made it out, but we’re going too slowly. We need to speed this up before—

A scream causes me to whirl in midair, only for my eyes to widen in horror. Cloudy Skies in vanishing before my eyes, her pink-coated body and purple mane fading away into a white mist.

All the while, she’s staring at me, utter pain and fear etched in her purple eyes.

I’m frozen in place as I watch until she’s no more.

“Wh-what...?” I stutter, slowly backing away. “Wh-what just happened?”

“I believe I just happened,” a jovial voice says from behind me.

I turn my neck to see the one who’d spoken, only to feel a fury finger place itself on my forehead. Next thing I know my body is screaming in agony as I feel it suddenly starting to just disappear.

I’m looking into the red and yellow eyes of the cause for all the fear as he leers at me, before his starts chanting something.

"Five score divided by four,

Your memories removed, your body confused!

For your insolence you must pay,

Cast off to a land far, far away!

I've scattered the six, and that's just the start of my tricks,

Your mind shall be weak, your outlook bleak!

Forgetting everything and living like a fool,

You have all lost, now no one can stop my rule!”

___________________________________________________________

I jerk up, sitting up on my couch. I glance at the clock. 7:45AM.

I grin. Wow. Almost slept through the exact time of my birthday.

I shake my head, turning the TV screen only to see I’d died several hours ago in Rust. Despite it being an old game, having come out back in 2015, it was still fun to play, especially now that there were mods that let you spawn as ponies.

I personally always chose Derpy Whooves. Why? She’s best pony, that’s why. And it’s always funny watching people’s reactions when they come towards me, thinking I’m food, only for me to turn around and blast them with whatever weapon I have.

While many had said that, in the game’s early days, nothing was scarier than seeing half naked man, or fully naked depending on what settings you had on, coming towards you with bloody murder in their pixelated eyes, nothing was scarier than a pony turning around, holding a rifle, right before it blew your avatar’s head off.

I did feel bad though. Since I always play using the Derpy mod for my avatar, I’d let Derpy die during my sleep. The reason I always fought so hard for her survival is because I like her so much.

She was my favourite pony ever since her first appearance, even if said appearance had been an animation error. And the fandom’s building on her character had just made me like her more. And when the 100th episode came out and they gave her such a caring character, I just fell more in love with her.

Though I did not like that she’d been renamed Muffins. I’d checked the end credits closely when that episode came out, and when I saw no Derpy, but instead Muffins, I’d put two and two together.

Still, it didn’t matter to me what her canon name was. To me, she was and always would be, Derpy Hooves.

I sigh, looking to the clock. 7:47. Just one more minute. Then I’m officially twenty-five. Yeah!

I stand up, stretching. I turn to watch the seconds tick down.

As I watch the second hand click closer and closer to the twelve, I think about all the things I got for my birthday from my friends online. Digibat made me some great Derpy fanart alongside my OC, a brown Pegasus mare with green eyes, purple mane and tail and an hourglass Cutie Mark.

Heh. What can I say; I liked my OC being mistaken online for a pony Time Lord. Always got me a good laugh.

Betamax sent me some Derpy figurines, one of which had an hourglass Cutie Mark instead of Derpy’s bubbles, no doubt from episode ten of Doctor Whooves & Assistant.

The best though, came from my best friend Gamester Dash, who sent me a Derpy plushy she’d hand-stitched herself. It was so cute I had trouble not just hugging it at all times.

I grin as the second hand is a second from the twelve. “Happy Birthday—”

“Happy Birthday, Honey Rays,” the girls all cheer as I walk into my living room.

Cloudy Skies, Derpy, Mary May, Open Skies and my parents were all gathered around, my dad holding a humungous cake with Happy Sixteen, Honey written in blue icing on the front.

I laugh, shaking my head. “You guys didn’t have to do this.”

“But we wan’ed to,” Cloudy says, grinning.

I laugh again and the party starts in earnest.

While everypony’s milling around, enjoying the party food and what not, I notice Derpy is sitting by one of the windows, looking out with distant eyes.

I walk over and sit down next to her. “Everything okay?”

She starts, clearing not having notice my coming over. She sighs and looks down at herself. She’s six months along now, the bulge is very evident.

“Derpy, just because it’s my party, doesn’t mean I can’t lend an ear to somepony else’s problems,” I say, moving so I was right alongside her.

She sighs again and looks away. “Do... do you think I’m going to make a good mommy?”

I blink, before frowning. “Derpy, you’re going to be a great mother. Sure, getting pregnant when you’re only thirteen isn’t something that normally happens, but you’ll do great.”

“You don’t find it odd that I want to keep the foal?” she asks, looking at me sadly, before casting her gaze down once again. “I know everypony at school’s talking about me, how I’m too young.”

I growl. Despite her dad making them move back to Ponyville after Derpy got pregnant, Derpy still goes to Cloudsdale High and many of the other students kept gossiping about her pregnancy, and not in a good way.

I lift a wing, pulling Derpy close. “Hon, it doesn’t matter what those ponies think. They’re not the ones carrying a new life and are willing to not only bring it into the world, but to raise it themselves. You’re an amazing mare, Derpy. Not many others would’ve done that. Don’t let anypony ever make you think any different.”

She remains silent for a long time. Then, slowly, a teeny tiny smile forms on her lips, before she leans her neck onto my shoulder. “Thanks, Honey. I needed to hear that.”

I smile, nuzzling her mane. She’s a wonderful pony. I know she’ll make things work.

I blink, frowning. What the heck...?

I glance around, feeling dazed, as if I’m surprised to find myself in my own living room.

I look back at the clock— an do a double take. It’s almost 8AM. What the...? How did I blank out for almost a quarter of an hour?

I scratch my head. Maybe I should lay of the all-night gaming for a while. I’m probably just still tired.

Spending the first hours of your twenty-fifth birthday going to bed. Wow. You’re a real party animal.

I chuckle, head for my room and just plonk down on my bed, not bothering to change out of my clothes or even get under the covers. As sleep takes me, I rub my right thigh, a slight frown on my face. It felt really warm for some reason.

___________________________________________________________

My alarm goes off and I sit up, yawning. Wow. Talk about a good long sleep. Feels like I slept for hours. Though my stomach is driving me nuts. When was the last time I ate again?

I turn on my phone, looking at the clock on it with bleary eyes— only for them to shoot wide open. The time is 8:21AM May 5th? I slept through my whole birthday.

I frown. Well, this sucks.

I look down at my messages. Holy crap. Over fifty, twenty being birthday wishes, the rest all asking why I wasn’t answering my phone.

I facepalm. Great. One of the most important days of my life, and I slept right through it and worried everyone.

Sighing, I get up and go have some breakfast.

My house isn’t really that big, it’s more of a unit, really. You can walk from one side of the house to the other in five seconds. I open the cupboards and pull out a bowl and a can of baked bean with bacon flavour. I grab a glass pour myself some OJ, sit down and eat. I can’t be bothered cooking or doing much else, not in the mood.

Stupid idiot. Why’d you have to go and sleep through the whole day? You’re defiantly laying of the late-night gaming for a while. At least until you've gotten a good night's sleep!

I finish my makeshift breakfast and have a shower. As I’m washing my thighs, however, I notice something that wasn’t there before. There’s a pair of lightning bolts on my thighs.

I frown, rubbing them, thinking they’ll wash away. Nope. They stay right there.

I spend several minutes scrubbing my thighs, trying to get these markings off. In the end the skin’s red raw from all the scrubbing, but the marks are still there.

Once I finish in the shower I decide to go and visit Mr. Hiligan. He’s a nice old man. I just wish others would visit him. Most avoid him because he seems unhappy, but I can understand his sadness.

He lost his family. That would make anyone a depressing person to be around.

And I knew his sadness. I never even got to know my family. I’d been raised in an orphanage since I could remember. I didn’t have anything of my parents’, I’d just been left on the orphanage’s doorstep one night. No note, nothing.

Since I never got adopted, I strove out on my own. I got a job as a software designer at a tech firm. I did pretty well, all things considered. Yeah, my pay wasn’t huge, but I got by.

___________________________________________________________

I close my door and walk into the living room, sighing. Figures I go for a visit when he isn’t home.

Probably went out to do the groceries. I’ve told him I could do that for him, but he always insists. Nice a guy as he is, he can still be such a stubborn old man, sometimes.

I yawn, looking at the time. It’s 3PM. I’d just bummed around after not finding Mr. Hiligan at his home or at the store downtown. I’d pretty much wasted another day. A record. First I waist my birthday sleeping and now I’ve wasted the day after. So productive.

I heat up some instant beef lasagne for an early dinner and sit down to eat with a glass of milk.

I take a bite of the pre-heated food, only to grab my mouth and run to the sink, spitting it out.

I hurry back to the table and chug the milk. God, what the hell was that? The moment I put the food in my mouth my gag reflex went off like crazy.

I glare at the offending dish. It must have gone off.

I dump the inedible food into the waste bin and just make myself a peanut butter sandwich. After that off-lasagne, I can’t be stuffed doing much else.

Sandwich eaten I decide to call it an early night and head for the bathroom. As I’m showering I glance down at the markings on my thighs. They’re still there.

I groan. Where the hell did these come from? You don’t just get tattoos from sleeping in front of your TV playing Rust. How did...? Wait. My hair wasn’t this long before.

I pull at a few strands of my hair. They’re a few centimetres longer than before. And... what is with the colouring? Amidst my smooth blonde hair there are now streaks of a slightly lighter blonde than there used to be?

I frown. What the bloody hell? Okay, first it’s weird markings and now I’ve streaks in my hair? Was that from the sun? I didn't think my hair could do that?

I growl. Someone’s pulling a really aggravating, really complicated and clearly well-done prank on me, and I. Don’t. Like it.

Breathing out loudly through my nose and finish up in the shower and get out to brush my teeth. As I look in the mirror, toothbrush in mouth, I jerk back.

What the hell? My eyes! They’re... they’ve turned golden-orange! How the hell did that happen?

I reach my hands to my eyes, trying to find the contact lenses. This has to be a joke, right? There’s no way... my... eyes...

I don’t find a contact, in either eye. I just stare at myself in the mirror, my eyes wide. I just stare, watching myself. I gape as my hair grows longer, reaching to just above my shoulder and the lighter streaks seem to spread.

I cringe when my ears seem to vanish for a moment, only to reappear on the top of my head, peaking out through my ever colour-changing hair. Only, they’re not human anymore. They look equine, maybe... pony-like... and bright pink.

I shriek when I feel a new appendage just grow above my ass and dangles down. I stare at my new “tail”, coloured like the streaks of regular lighter blonde that have almost completely overridden the brown in my hair.

Now that I think about it, my hair’s looking more like a mane. Feeling around my neck, I can feel hair growing “on” my neck, extra hair.

I slump onto the toilet seat, making sure not to seat on my new tail and just look down at my feet... Oh, they’re changing too. My middle toe had gotten larger and the nail looks stronger somehow.

Well, at least I live alone, so I don’t have a roommate who’s gonna come home and freak out when they see what’s happened to me.

After several minutes of just staring at my toes, I get up and walk in a daze to my room, before flopping onto the bed, completely naked and lose all consciousness.

___________________________________________________________

I’m a freak. They’re no other way of looking at it. I woke up this morning to find my feet had turned into hooves covered in bright pink fur. My teeth feel different too.

And I can’t stop wondering if I have anything horses might eat somewhere. I don’t, but I can’t stop thinking about it.

Not only that, but my boobs are gone! When I woke up I found my chest was completely bear.

Well, my boobs aren't entirely gone. I still have my nipples... only now they’re down my body, a little above my groin, like teats on an animal.

I’m certain of it. I have no idea how, nor why, but I am turning into a pony. A quick search online for a cutie mark matching the marks on my thighs confirmed it, even more so when I looked for ponies with a mane and tail colour like what my hair now completely was.

One pony matched perfectly. Honey Rays.

I don’t recognize her name, so I do a little research. She was a background Pegasus pony who appears throughout the whole five seasons of MLP.

Despite the totally petrifying fear that I was changing from a human into an animal, a small part of my MLP fan self still managed to feel ticked off.

Really? Really? I somehow start turning into a pony and I end up becoming some random background pony? I couldn’t have become best pony? Talk about lame.

I groan. I’m complaining about how I’d rather be turning into one type of pony as opposed to another, when the fact is I’m losing my humanity? What the hell is wrong with me? URG! Sometimes being a big fan of that show is so annoying!

As I was searching, I'd found something else among the bloggers on Fimfiction. A lot were talking about some kind of terrorist bombing in Seattle that happened two nights ago.

Great, so my birthday is now also the day of a bombing. Wonderful.

I don’t do much else for the day, what with now looking like a freak, making it impossible to go outside, other than sit in front of the TV and watch my DVD collection of the whole MLP series, Screw Blue-Ray. I prefer ordinary DVDs.

By the time I decide to shower for before bed I’ve changed even more. Honey Rays’ pink fur now covers most of my legs. It’s harder to walk, too. My pelvis feels weird, probably because it’s now a pony pelvis and not a human’s.

I finding it harder to move my fingers now. They’re getting really stiff and my middle finger nail’s growing just like my toe nail was.

As I shower, I notice an odd feeling in my back. Feathers are there, the starting of my new wings, I guess.

It’s a pity tomorrow’s going to be such a nice day. I’m not leaving the house like this, no way in hell.

A part of me wants to question why I know this when I didn’t even watch the weather report, but, then again, I’ve always sort of been able to guess the weather. Maybe turning into a Pegasus is just making that guessing power stronger?

By the time I’m getting into bed, fur covers most of my body.

I can feel my face has turned into a snout, hell I can see my snout with my own eyes, which I can swear feel bigger.

I curl up in bed, not even bothering to wear pajamas. What’s the point? Ponies don’t wear clothes.

I close my eyes, praying that this is all just a really, really bad dream.

___________________________________________________________

This isn’t a dream, it’s a living nightmare!

I wake up this morning and I’m completely, 100% Honey Rays.

I just lay in bed for a long time, not bothering to get up. What’s the point? I’m a pony, a fucking pony! I can never go out in public again. How would the world react if they learned a human had turned into a pony from a cartoon show?

The show.

I guess I have a reason to get up after all.

I go into the kitchen, grabbing everything I can eat without having to return to the kitchen for any reason, chips, dry cereal, etc. I had to get them all with my mouth, which proved hard, but not impossible, then returned to my pantry, pulling out every bottle of drink I had and brought it all to the living room.

Food and drink all set, I sat down in front of the TV and watched MLP from start to finish all over again. I couldn’t really think of anything else I could do.

Every day, that’s all I do, sit in front of the TV, watching all five seasons and the two movies, over and over again.

By May 8th I’ve pretty much memorized the entire thing. I could probably recite everything the characters say and when they say them, even the background talk, word for word.

I’ve only been getting up every now and then during each day to either use the toilet... more like just go in the backyard really, since I can’t figure out how to use a human toilet as a pony, to restock whenever I ran out of food, shower and sleep. That’s pretty much my life now.

I just don’t see any reason to do anything else. I’m a fucking pony! The moment I leave this house I’m doomed.

I’m almost out of food though. Wonder what I’ll do when that happens. I can’t go out and buy more. You ever heard of a pony just walking down the street to the store to buy goods.

Yeah. Me neither.

___________________________________________________________

As A Canterlot Wedding part two ends for the umpteenth time, I glance out the window. It’s getting late, the sun’s almost down. May as well head for bed—

Knock, knock, knock.

I freeze midstep. Someone knocked on my door. Who? Was it Mr. Hiligan? Was he checking up on me to wonder why I haven’t spoken to him in almost a week?

“Hello?” an official sounding voice calls from behind the door. It sounds male. “Is anyone home?”

“Go away!” I shouted, turning to head back towards the showers.

“Miss? Miss, can we please speak to you? It’s a matter of your own safety,” says a second male’s voice.

I snort. “I don’t care. Just leave me alo—”

“She’s a pony!” a voice shouts from outside and I turn to see someone wearing a hazmat suit peering in through my small back windows. “Confirmed. Pony confirmed!”

Before I can even widen my eyes in realization, the door is bashed down and several humans wearing more hazmat suits run in.

I scream, bolting for the back. I know there’s the human that spotted me out there, but maybe I can still get away!

I crash through the door, which I realize the guy had been standing behind, so he fell back, slamming his head into the pavement.

Having nowhere else to go, I decide to try something I really should’ve before.

I open my wings out and flap as I run.

To my surprise, I shoot up into the air with barely any effort. Guess I’ve got pegasi magic.

I can no more than think this and notice the amazing feeling of being in the air, the cool night breeze blowing through my feather, however, when I feel a stinging sensation in my right flank.

I suddenly feel tired. I keep trying to flap my wings, while reaching my neck back to look at where the stinging feeling had come from. There’s a small red dart sticking out of my flank.

Oh... buck.

I’m losing altitude fast, heading back down towards the yard, where several hazmat guys are standing there, waiting for me.

I try to keep flapping, to fly away, but my muscles are already going numb. My wings are flapping erratically.

I tumble to the ground, skidding along the grass.

I look up as my eyes close to see a cage being brought towards me, several hazmats reaching for me.

I black out.

___________________________________________________________

“Phew, am I glad this thing came with a shower,” a familiar voice says through the haze. It sounds female.

“Yeah, Auntie. No offence, but you really stink when you sweat,” says another, this one also sounding female, but much younger.

“Oh, and like you can talk, young man,” a third voice says, sounding female as well, but older than the second voice, more like an adult.

I know that first voice. It sounds very familiar.

“Hey, where’s Kelly?” the familiar voice asks.

“In the loo,” another familiar voice says, this one male.

“Really?” the first voice asks. “Why?”

The second voice I recognized sighed. “She’s hurling. Don’t know why, but she’s been in there since you got into the shower.”

It clicks. I know where those voices sound familiar. But... it can’t be... can it?

I slowly open my eyes, struggling a little to force them to open. I’m lying on a soft bed with plain brown covers in a very spacious room that looked like a combination of living room, dining room (with a table surrounded by a joint chair built into the wall), an area with several bed, a bathroom and so on.

I can see a pair of chairs a little way to my left, like those of a car.

It took me a few moments to figure out, thanks to some of that tranquilizer still working its way out of my system, that I was in a camper van, an RV of some kind.

“Hey, Auntie, she’s waking up,” the first voice I hadn’t recognized said as I worked through the haze still vaguely covering my mind.

I struggle to sit up, looking around, my heart rate rising. More humans. Where am I? Am I in a holding cell in the CDC’s base?

I can see a blurry image of what I can guess are two small humans by the way they’re standing on their hind legs. There’s only two other blotches, one of which is coming towards me. Each blotch is grey, though the one not coming towards me looks a little more teal than grey.

I feel a hoof on my shoulder, my brain saying something about that should be registering to me but I can’t figure out what and turn to look at the grey blotch in front of me, panic mixing with confusion.

“Are you okay?” it asks, sounding concerned. “You’ve been out for a while now.”

I blink a few times, then shake my head furiously to clear the haze in my mind. When my eyesight finally settles I blink several more times, trying to figure out if I’m seeing things.

Standing in front of me, her right foreleg outstretched, is a Pegasus pony with a blonde mane, grey coat and golden eyes, one of which is facing a direction the other isn’t.

I gape, my mouth unable to form words.

It... it... it’s...

“DERPY!” I wail, leaping forward and wrapping my forelegs around her. If I had to be turned into a pony and trapped by the CDC in a strangely nice looking holding cell, at least I knew that, not only am I not the only pony here, but I’m with the one pony I’d want to be with.

Derpy Hooves! It’s Derpy Hooves! Oh, there is a God out there!

___________________________________________________________

I twist my head, moving another pink feather into its proper place, making the area smooth. Honey gives a sigh that’s a mixture of relief, surprise and uncertainty.

Once our latest pony addition had calmed down enough, we’d told her everything we could.

When she’d woken up we’d been driving for almost two hours. It’s a ive hundred and night-nine mile drive from where we were to when we’d started driving to get to Des Moines, so we still a long way til we get there. We’d been about twenty minutes or so away from Kalamazoo when she woke up.

The reason why was simple: Supplies. Mr. Hiligan may have given us this RV to get away, I’m thankful, but it’s not exactly well supplied and a lot of the things we packed got left behind when the CDC got Party, Jenny and the kids. We didn’t have time to get them back, so we were making a stop in Kalamazoo to buy more supplies to last us the trip to Des Moines.

Amber had anxiously asked why we couldn’t have stopped to get supplies earlier, while she was still out? We could’ve gone shopping in Dearborn, Belleville, or Blackman. Why pass all those for Kalamazoo?

Party had rolled his eyes before saying that the CDC will still be looking for us. The farther away we are when we stop, the better. Plus, it’ll mean we won’t need to go for supplies again so soon after we get to Des Moines.

After that she went rather quiet. After some prodding from me and my laying down on my stomach next to her, she’d looked at me sadly. It was then I took notice of the state her wings were in. Terrible condition. I offered to preen her, since she obviously didn’t know how to herself. I’d figured out how to preen my own wings after a few days with having them and seeing her wings in such a state made me feel bad, so I’d offered to preen her.

She hadn’t objected... sort of. She’d blushed when I offered, before explaining that, in the ideals of the fandom, preening was a very intimate thing between pegasi or others with feathered wings. I gently smiled and told her I wanted to fix them to make her feel better and because we pegasi should preen our wings every day. Tedious work at times, but necessary, even if we’re not flying.

She seemed hesitant, but agreed, so I started preening her. It must have made her feel a lot better, because, whilst I preened her, she told us her story. As she did, I felt my heart break. She’d been all on her own during her change. Sure, Party had sort of gone through the same thing, but even he’d still had the Golds if he’d needed to just talk. And then he’d had me and the others. Turning into a pony and being one, while surrounded by those you feel you can trust had helped us deal with the change.

This poor girl hadn’t had that peace. She’d not only gone through the change all on her own, but had no one she’d been able to confide in during that time. Then she gets taken away by the CDC, her last thoughts before passing out no doubt being that she’d be treated like an animal for the rest of her life.

My heart really went out to this poor girl. No wonder her wings were in such a bad state. Nopony suffering that kind of a depression would bother preening.

Once I learn this and go over it all in my mind, I start being gentler with my preening. She is very cute about it. I can’t help noticing that she’s wearing the oddest mixture of emotions I’ve ever seen. She has sadness, but also a relief, mixed with uncertainly and embarrassment, a blush on her muzzle like a school girl with a crush.

As I preened her wings, I seemed to zone everything else out. I never even noticed when the RV stopped. It was only once I’d finished Honey’s preening an hour later that I took notice that only ponies were present in the vehicle home.

Party explained that we’d reached Kalamazoo whilst I’d been preening Honey and no one had wanted to interrupt the tender moment we seemed to be having. Kelly and Jenny and the kids have gone out to get the shopping and lunch. I just hope they have the sense to not act nervous and the kids don’t say anything that adults would question. Last thing we need is the Kalamazoo authorities taking them in for suspicion of something.

Party had been polite enough during the preening to sit up front in the passenger seat and keeping his eyes forward. Thanks to the heat cover on the windows, no one had seen him.

Once I finish preening, I pull back and smile, saying, “All done. You’re wings are perfectly preened.”

We elapse into a long silence, Honey resting against me. I can’t help noticing she seems calmer. I try to move, but feel a slight flinch.

I decide I’ll stay with her like this, putting a wing over her in a gentle hug, to which she reacts by relaxing more than before and leaning her head against my side. She’s clearly still anxious and I seem to be helping her remain calm.

“I still don’t understand,” Amber says after a while, lifting her head and glancing to me. “You remember Derpy’s life in Equestria?”

I groan, rolling my eyes.

I’d already explained this to her several times while I’d been preening her. For whatever reason, even before my transformation was complete, I’d started remembering all the dreams I’d been having since that one on the plane.

I couldn’t remember them completely, small pieces were missing here and there, but large parts of them stood out. The memories of Derpy’s life in Ponyville, her time as a filly and then a young mare, raising Dinky, adopting Sparkler, heck, even the reason Party and I felt we knew each other... a lot of it stood out more than they had when the dreams had first started, along with the changes from human to pony and I was able to guess the parts missing pretty well. Maybe it was because I was with more than one other pony now?

One dream, however, I could remember with perfect clarity, despite my desires to forget the whole thing. The dream when Discord banished Derpy and fused her to me. The fusion part itself I never saw/experienced, but her disappearing I did.

The memory of how it felt to have my body... well, her’s, but it feels like mine in the dream, just disappearing like that, the sudden lose of limbs, still chilled me to the bone.

Party didn’t fair too well with the memories of the pony he was fused with even now, I seemed to have fared much better. He could only seem to remember small chunks of all his dreams, the dream when Discord got Party being the only one he knew well because he’d written down the small bits he remembered every time and then put them all together.

Amber herself couldn’t seem to remember much about Honey Rays, either. I wasn’t sure if it was that, or what she’d been through that caused her to pretty much act like Fluttershy in the show.

“Maybe... it’s because you were hit with the wrong spell?”

I blink and turn, cocking my head at the pink Pegasus.

Party seems just as confused, coming over, an eyebrow raised. “Wrong spell? How could she have been hit with the wrong spell? It’s clear Discord did this to all three of us, maybe even more. How could the spell he got Derpy with have been wrong when it was the same as what hit us?”

“Because he meant for that spell to hit Dinky.”

Party and I glance at each other, not understanding.

I look back to Amber, confused. “What do you mean he meant to hit Dinky?”

She closes her eyes. “I know I’ve not had as much time to think about this as you two, but, you told me how you saved Dinky, right?”

“Derpy saved her,” I corrected. “I’m not her, I’m just fused with her.”

She nods, then shakes her head. “Okay, well, you said that Derpy was scared, that Discord had clearly meant to go for Dinky, which was why she started running, correct?”

I nod, wondering where she’s going with this.

She takes a breath, then looks firmly at me. “When Derpy had been hit with Discord’s spell, it hadn’t been meant for her. He was aiming for Dinky, that was the reason Derpy had started running in the first place.”

I blink, going over it in my mind. She... wow. I’d never thought of it like that.

She nods. “That spell had been meant for Dinky, to fuse her with a human, probably you. But, because she saw it coming and Dinky had been on her back, Derpy bucked Dinky out the way. With Dinky not there for the spell to hit, it kept going, getting Derpy instead. Maybe, because the spell had been meant for Dinky, but hit Derpy instead, it didn’t work completely as it should. Think of some of the words in his spell. Some of the words he used had given me the idea.”

I hear those haunting words in my head as if he was standing right next to me. Your mind shall be weak, your outlook bleak! Forgetting everything and living like a fool...

My eyes widen and she nods again. “If those were the words, maybe it meant that, once they were fused with us, their memories were meant to be locked away as they lived as one with us. Then, when we started turning into them, they were leaking out a little, but the spell was still working, keeping the pony memories from fully surfacing.”

“But, since Derpy had been hit by the spell meant for her daughter, maybe the mind part of the spell didn’t quite work, which is why she’s able to hold onto her memories more so than us,” Party nodded, understanding.

I remained there, going over what had just been relayed to me. It wasn’t really much of a theory, since it was working with no real evidence, but it was the best we really had right now. It wasn’t like there were any books to reference this kind of thing.

The sound of laughter came from outside, followed by the door opening and Sally and Mark hurrying on, carrying McDonalds Happy Meal boxes, and hurried over to the table, sitting down and opening the boxes and pulling out their food.

A few moments later, Kelly and Jenny came in as well, Kelly carrying a large cardboard case holding five different meals, Jenny pushing a trolley laidened with more food than I’d ever seen in one go.

Party Favor moved over and, lighting his horn, levitated everything out of the trolley and moved them into their appropriate areas of storage: the cold foods we’d likely be eating sooner rather than later went into the joint fridge and small freeze, other cold goods, such as meats, were put into the larger freezer in the laundry area and the other produces like cereal and other dry foods went into the pantry.

I noticed there were some alfalfa pellet sacks being placed in the pantry too. I grinned. Ever since becoming a pony, that stuff tasted amazing. No wonder horses like it so much.

While Party was moving all the bought items, I assisted Kelly with the food she’d gotten for the rest of us. I took note that Amber and myself had chicken wraps with some bacon, which caused me to lick my lips.

One thing I loved about being a pony, it hadn’t robbed me of my enjoyment of pig meat.

Party frowned at his meal. It was just two salads. We had sides as well, large fries and cokes for all.

When Amber asked why he didn’t have a chicken wrap, Party explained something we’d learned about him. While I could still eat things like bacon, fish and chicken, it seemed he couldn’t. It had taken a little time to figure out it was because, as a Pegasus, I could still digest those things do to my different metabolism. Unicorns, it seemed, couldn’t eat such things. Because of this, though, Kelly had gotten two large fries for Party, since he had to miss out on the chicken and the bacon.

We all sat around the table, an odd sight, when you think about it, enjoying our meals.

I loved the wraps. Before I’d turned into a pony, eating raw tomatoes and lettuce had always made me want to gag. Now though, I tore into the wrap with both those things and found them “so good”.

Once lunch was eaten and done, Kelly took all the rubbish to the bin, while Jenny returned the trolley to the store. When they were back, Kelly got into the driver’s seat to give Jenny a rest, since she’d been driving since we’d had to make our getaway and we were headed down the road again.

Author's Note

Disclaimer: Digibat, Betamax and Gamester Dash were all just random names of the top of my head when i started writing the chapter. any similarities to usernames or users themselves are purely coincidental.

SO sorry this took so long.

So, now we know how Honey Rays changed and Derpy's figured out the deal with her memories. And it seems Amber/Honey has a major crush on our wall-eyed mare.

How much more of the roadtrip is still to come? You'll find out soon

Chapter 7

___________________________________________________________

“Now I understand why Rainbow Dash went so nuts in Read It and Weep,” I moaned, slumped in front of window, watching from the bed as we drove past Beverly Shores.

I’d been trying to keep myself occupied during the drive since we left Kalamazoo, but having been inside this tin can since last night, I was feeling really claustrophobic and the knowledge we still had over four hours worth of driving still to go didn’t help.

I had a feeling it was a Pegasus thing, since I’d been on far longer drives back in the past when I was human and had no problem.

But, now that I was a Pegasus, having been stuck inside for so long was starting to get on my nerves. My wings wanted to spread; I needed to feel the wind on my face and through my feathers as I flew through the open sky.

Seeing as we couldn’t watch anything, since this RV didn’t have a TV or anything like that, Kelly had gotten the kids a portable DVD player and, wouldn’t you know it, they’d found a store with all five seasons of MLP, which the kids were sitting and watching.

Honey was laying against me, as she had been since we’d finished lunch and started off again. She seemed clingy, but I had a feeling it was because she felt she could trust me and be at ease around me. She was currently having a light nap, her body rising and falling against mine with each breath.

Despite my anxiety to get out of here and stretch my wings, it was calming to feel her against me like this. It made me wonder if Derpy and Honey had had something back in Equestria, before Discord forced them to be fused with us simple humans.

We left Kalamazoo behind us for the safety of the open road. All of us now had some time to think and work through this. I filled Kelly in on what Party, Honey and I had figured out. Everyone had to agree it made some sort of sense. The fans talked about mind spells in Equestria, and most theorized that there were many different types. Even the slightest error in casing could prove problematic at best, disastrous at worst. The fact that Derpy had taken the spell meant for Dinky might be why my memory haze with different from the other ponies.

“You doing okay?”

I glanced to see Party sit down next to me on my other side.

I shrug. “Pegasi aren’t good with being coped up inside so long.”

“Honey doesn’t seem to mind,” Party nodded to the mare snoozing against me, somewhat sandwiching me between the two of them.

I shake my head. “She’s been through more than we did, Party. She needs the rest.” I sigh. “I just wish I could do more than offer comfort to her.”

He frowned at me. “Derpy, your offering her comfort is the best thing you could. Plus, from the short time I’ve known you, that’s who you are, someone who’s caring for others.”

We remain silent for a while, watching the beach as it stopped being the scenery, Party closing the curtains so no one would see a pair of ponies by the window, listening to the sound of the show coming from the PDVDP.

“Ya think Dinky’s somewhere out there?”

After several long minutes of silence, the sudden question makes me startle, turning to him, not having been expecting it.

I frown, looking down at my hooves. “I want to say I believe she got away...”

“But...?” Party inched me on.

I sighed. “But... at best, Derpy gave her daughter a few moments. I mean, look at you, Party,” I turn my head to him. “Discord got to the ponies in his village; you even said Party thought of Starlight Glimmer having been captured.” I look back down, closing my eyes. “If he got to ponies that far away, it’s more than likely Dinky got caught too.”

“So you think she’s somewhere here, fused to a human on Earth?” Party nudged me face.

I opened my eyes and turn an eye to him, before giving a single nod. “I do... But should we find her?”

He blinked, pulling back. “Why?”

I sigh. “Well, if she is here, some of Dinky’s memories might be causing her to think of me. She’s probably wondering where I am, scared she’s never going to see me again, confused about being scared because she’s a human turned into a pony so much younger...”

I gasp us I feel his hoof move across my face. I turn to see him moving a slightly damp hoof downward.

I lift a hoof to my cheeks. They’re wet. I’d been crying.

I look back down. “What’s happening to me, Party?”

I leans his neck against me in a pony neck hug. “I’m not sure, Derpy.”

"Am I being made to feel this way because its how Derpy feels? I know her mind is trapped in my own by Discord's horrible spell. Does that mean my mind will be fully re-written? Will I stop being me?"

He sighs against me. "I wish I could tell you, Derpy. I really wish I could."

Ever since I’d started being able to remember my dreams clearer, that had been one of the things I’d been trying to ignore. Dinky.

However, being stuck in this RV for so long, with nothing else to really do, and the conversation I’d had with Party and Honey whilst we waited in the RV for the others to get back earlier, my thoughts went to the little filly, making me worry about her and where on the planet she could be.

“You’re her mother,” Party said, leaning against me. “It’s natural to be worried.”

“But I’m not her mother,” I state, pulling my head away, then looking firmly at him. “I’m a human trapped in her body. Dinky needs her mother, but, unless we somehow find a way to fix this, she’ll never get her back. I can’t be a mother, not the mother she needs, anyway.”

I blink, then grimace, realizing I was just referring to myself as a mother in general. This was getting really worrying.

Without warning, the RV jerked to a halt. The sudden momentum sent Party pushing into me, causing me to push into Honey, causing the three of us to tumble off the bed and resulting in us being in a pony pile up.

“Jenny!” I shouted, glaring at her from underneath Party. “What the hell? A little warning next time?”

“Sorry, but we’re at a roadblock,” Jenny says, glancing back at me from the driver’s seat as we untangle ourselves.

I frown, but my eyes widen with worry. “What?”

Jenny nods. “Police are checking vehicles, no doubt looking for the ones responsible for that terrorist attack in Seattle.”

“What?” Honey cries, her eyes widening in fear before ducking behind me. I thought she turned into Honey Rays, not Fluttershy. “No. No, they can’t! If they look in here they’ll find us and then they’ll call the CDC and we’ll all be taken away!”

“I know,” Jenny nods, looking back to the front where see could see some officers in the distance checking the cars ahead of us. “Any ideas, Ben?”

I frown. “Why you asking me?”

She smirks. “You’ve been making all the plans up til now and you’ve been good at it. So, any ideas?”

I snort, annoyed she’d just put that choice to me. Now everyone and everypony’s looking to me, counting on me. If I’d turned into Twilight Sparkle or one of the other princesses, I could understand, but I’m Derpy.

I pace back and forth, going over ideas in my mind. We could... No, no. that’s too simple. It would fail in a heartbeat. Oh, we could... No, no, idiot! They’re searching the vehicles, they’d look there too.

On my tenth pacing of the RV I glance at Sally, she’s holding onto a small teddy bear, Kelly or Jenny must’ve gotten it for her back in Kalamazoo, tightly.

I smirk. If only we could be like that. A stuffed animal would be scanned for bombs and such, but otherwise they’d be left... alone?

My eyes widen and my smirk turns to a grin. I whirl around, grinning. “I have a plan that might work, but,” I look to Party and Honey, “you’ll need to keep your emotions in check, at least until the police have finished their search and we’re on our way.”

They all glance at each other, then look to me with raised eyebrows.

I grin eagerly. “Okay, here’s what we need to do...”

___________________________________________________________

“I’ll take this one, Tibs,” I says as I walk towards the next vehicle in line, an RV.

He nods absentmindedly as he writes down more notes from the others cars. “Sure, Office Huegans. Be my guest.”

I roll my eyes. "Just call me Hues, Tibs. It's not that hard."

Ever since that bombing in Seattle, I’ve been stuck out here on each shift, waiting for cars to come by, stop them and search them, each time yielding nothing.

I realize the worry of terrorists after that explosion, but this is so tedious. I’ve lost count of the number of cars I’ve searched today alone. If not for Sergeant Tibs keeping a record of each car and its occupants and destination, I probably wouldn’t have anything to go on by the end of it all.

I knock on the door to the RV and wait for an answer.

Moments later the door opens to show a young woman with ear-length blonde hair wearing a tank-top and jeans.

She smiles hesitantly at me. “Can I help you, officer?”

I nod, holding up the warrant. “Officer Huegans. Sorry, ma’m, but we’re checking all cars for any chances of further bombers. You understand?”

She nods, stepping aside and letting me in.

I glance around. It’s a fairly big RV. It has pretty much the most room you could want in one and everything looks pretty normal.

There’s another woman in the driver’s seat, with brown hair that goes to her shoulders.

I noticed two kids sitting at the table surrounded by three large plushy animals. I recognize them right away thanks to my daughters. One’s a unicorn with a teal coat and poofy blue mane and tail, with a few stripes of a much lighter-blue through it. The other two were pegasi, one being the infamous Derpy Hooves my daughter usually spoke of. The other was one I didn’t know, with a pink coat and blonde mane and tail. I’d ask my daughter about it.

They’re all really well-made. I’d almost swear they were real. I can smell perfume in the air. From this distance, I can tell it’s coming from the toys. Either the kids sprayed them for some reason, or they’d smelled and the adults did so to lessen the smell.

“Oh, hello, Mr. policeman,” the little girl says, smiling at me. I can see a toy tea cup sitting in front of her, a boy that is clearly her brother and the three stuffed animals. “Would you like some tea?”

“He wouldn’t want tea,” the boy says, with his mouth half closed and shakes the teal pony toy, clearly pretending it’s the one talking. “Police like coffee.”

I chuckle. This kid either really loved his sister enough to really play or he really had fun doing that with the pony. Considering that fandom, I wouldn’t dismiss that idea.

I do my search, checking anywhere I can think of that a bomb or any types of explosives could be hidden. Nothing seems odd, aside from this place needing a bit more of a clean. Other than that, I don’t see anything wrong. I even use a scanner to look for even the smallest traces of something from an explosive near the toys. Nothing.

I inwardly groan. Another waste of time for both myself and another family.

I go over to the adults and ask them to give me all the details I need, their names, license, where they’re going and why, etcetera.

They’re heading for Des Moines. When I ask why they say they just needed a change of scenery, the driver, the children’s mother, had apparently just broken up with her husband and wanted to get away.

I didn’t ask any further about that, my wife having gone through something similar with her last partner. I knew where not to tread here.

I thank them for their time, and head for the door.

“Goodbye, Mr. police officer.” I glance back to see the little girl making the Derpy toy wave at me. “Have a lovely day.”

I smile and nod, before exiting, closing the door behind me. I watch as the RV starts moving and drives off.

Nice family. I turn to head for the next car, before I smack myself on the forehead. I should have asked where they got those toys. My daughter would love a large pony plushy like those.

I sigh. Well, no point crying over spilled milk. Putting that aside, I head for the next car to continue my tedious job.

___________________________________________________________

Jenny is looking in the rear-view mirror. “Okay, you can move now.”

I shut my eyes and rub them with my hooves. “God! That was harder than I thought!” I open them, blinking several times to get some normal feeling back.

“I was worried I’d blink while that officer was looking at me,” Party says, rubbing his eyes too.

“Still, that was a great idea, Derpy,” Honey says, smiling at me with her eyes closed. “Stuffed toys. Brilliant.”

I grin sheepishly, rubbing my neck with a forehoof. “Well, it wasn’t that great. It was just the best I could come up with at such short notice.”

“Still, it got us through.” Jenny grins, glancing at me through the rear-view. “See, told you you’re the plan guy.”

I shake my head, blushing.

I yawn. I suddenly feel pretty tired. I move over to the bed and lay down for a nap. As I settle down, I give a light chuckle as I feel Honey come up beside me and lay down too, gently leaning her body against mine.

I yawn again, then close my eyes, letting sleep take me. At least sleep would help pass the time... Huh. I wonder if that’s why Dash naps so often, to make the time fly.

___________________________________________________________

Jenny glances at her watch. Still an hour and forty-eight minutes until they reach Des Moines and they could all finally relax a little.

“Um, Jenny?” She looks to her left and sees Ash standing there, looking unsure about something. “Would... would it be alright if I sat up here with you?”

Jenny smiles. “Sure, Ash. Just make sure to stay low, so no one sees you.” Not that there was much chance of that right now. The drive was going to be pretty much nothing but road until they reached Des Moines and they hadn’t come across any other traffic in ages.

Ash nods, getting onto the passanger seat and laying down on his stomach, before he blinks, turning to her with a puzzled expression. “You called me Ash.”

She nods, turning her head back to the road. “So?”

He shrugs. “Well, the others have gotten used to calling me Party, even me. So, why are you still calling me Ash?”

Jenny glances at him with a raised eyebrow. “You guys still plan on changing back into people after this is all over, right?”

Ash didn’t answer, frowning at the floor. “To be honest... I’m not sure, at least about myself.”

Jenny whipped her head to him, veering off road for a moment, before correcting her mistake. Her eyes are fixed on him, confused. “You mean... you don’t want to go back to being the woman you were born as.”

Ash just shakes his head. “Haven’t really been sure for a few days now, really?”

“Why?”

He sighs, looking to her. “Party’s memories.”

She blinks. “I thought you couldn’t retain them like Ben can?”

He nods. “I can’t... but some memories stick out. And... after I had them...” he glances back at the two pegasi sleeping on the bed, the sudden jerk not having been enough to wake them, “my thoughts of Derpy are... confusing.”

Jenny sighs. “Wanna talk about it?”

___________________________________________________________

I walk off of the train, looking around in excitement. Ponyville. Finally, I’d get to see where Princess Twilight and her friends called home.

Ever since they helped us understand friendship properly, our village has been doing a lot better. We’ve even expanded, gaining several new villagers and helped them build their homes.

Of all the things Starlight Glimmer made rules for us to follow, that was one we’d stuck too, even after everything that happened. We all pitched in whenever a new house needed building and there was a roaster for who would host the new villagers until their house was built.

We didn’t just gain new ponies for villagers, either. We had two griffins, a minotaur couple, several zebras, even some deer.

Out little town was growing and we all had those six ponies to thank. My visit was also to see if there were any ideas we could use here to improve our town.

Taking my luggage in my magic, I head out the station and step out into Ponyville proper. It’s wonderful. There’s so many ponies around. Many of them wave to me as I walk by.

“Whoa! Watch out!” I glance around at the voice, but see nopony looking in my direction.

I scratch my head with a hoof. Now that’s weird. Where did that voice come—?

“WATCH OUT!”

I hear the scream a second before I’m hit by something. I tumble with whatever it is for several moments, before I flop, belly-first, on the ground, my legs spread eagle.

“Ow!” I say, trying to get up, only to find a large weight on my back. “What in Equestria just hit me?”

“Oh! I’m so sorry!”

I feel the weight leave my back and push myself up, before somepony’s hooves grab me, whirl me around and starts patting me, puffing dirt off of my coat.

She’s a grey Pegasus mare with a blonde mane and tail and six bubbles for a Cutie Mark. The interesting thing, though, was her eyes. They were an amazing golden colour, almost the same as her mane. However, one eye was facing in one direction while the other was looking at me, though both had concern in them.

“I’m really, really sorry,” she says as she dusts me off. “I should have landed sooner. I’m so clumsy. I’m sorry.”

I take a step back, shaking my head. “Oh, no, miss. Please, it was just an accident. I know several pegasi who had had landing problems from time to time.”

She mumbles something I didn’t quite hear.

“What was that?” I ask, leaning a little forward. “Couldn’t quite hear you.”

“I doubt they have as many as I do,” she mumbled, though just loud enough that I heard it.

I frown. Why was she being so hard on herself?

I use a hoof to lift her chin so she’s looking at me. “Hey. Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure you’re not that bad.”

She looks away, her mismatched eyes becoming downcast. “I am...”

My smile faltered a little. Why is she being so hard on herself?

“Mommy!”

A small excited cheer made me look around, to see a mulberry Earth Pony with three smile flowers for her Cutie Mark leading a small group of foals, one of which, a little unicorn filly, had just broken ranks and was rushing over to us.

I watch as the little filly tackled the grey mare, who held her in a warm embrace as she said, “Hello, muffin. What’re you doing here?”

“Miss Cheerilee is taking us to visit Carousel Boutique to see how Miss Rarity makes her dresses,” the filly who’s name was apparently Muffin said, nuzzling the older mare.

I blinked before I processed it. This mare was the filly’s mother, and, upon closer examination of the two, I’m surprised I didn’t notice it sooner. The filly is practically identical to her mother, aside from the fact that she’s a unicorn while her mother’s a Pegasus.

It was now that the filly took notice of me. “Hi, Mr.” she said, smiling at me with the most innocent smile I’d ever seen in my life. “Are you one of Mommy’s friends?”

I pause for a moment, glancing at the mare, who was looking uncertain. I smile and nod. “Yes, Muffin. I’m Party Favor— What’s wrong?” I asked, seeing her smile fade as she frowned at me.

“Only Mommy can call me muffin,” she pouted, giving me a look I honestly could not name, but it wasn’t pleasant.

I cocked an eyebrow. “But, isn’t that your name? Why’s only your mommy allowed to call you your name?”

The mare chuckled, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. This is my daughter, Dinky Doo. ”

I smile, looking down at the little filly. “My apologies, Dinky.”

The pout vanishes and Dinky just smiles like before. “That’s okay, Mr. Favor.”

I chuckle. “Just Party will do, Miss Doo.”

She looks confused and is clearly about to ask something, when a voice calls from where the other foals and teacher were. “Dinky, I’m happy for you to speak with your mother, but we need to get back to the lesson, dear.”

Dinky sighs, looks up at her mother, kisses her on the cheek and hopes out of her grasp, hurrying back to her class.

I watch, finding it impossible not to smile. I turn back to the mare, who is also smiling. “You’ve a lovely daughter, Miss...”

I suddenly realize I don’t know her name.

She chuckles, turning away from watching her daughter rejoin her class and looks to me with a smile. “Derpy. Derpy Hooves.”

I nod, bowing my head a little. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Hooves.” As I return my posture to normal, I ask a question then suddenly flitters across my mind. “Who’s the father?”

She giggles. “That's a little personal, Party. So, what brings you to Ponyville?”

I grin sheepishly, then explain to her how Princess Twilight and her friends saved my town a while ago, and how I wanted to visit their town to see what it was like in comparison.

Derpy offered to help with my luggage to make up for crashing into me, but I told her it was unnecessary and levitated them alongside us as we walked.

Since I hadn’t eaten on the train, and because she insisted I had to let her do something for me to make up for the crash, we sat down at a small cafe and I ordered some food, a daffodil sandwich, a small hay fries and a soda, while she ordered a blueberry muffin and a water.

As we sat waiting for our meals to arrive, she told me about herself. She had lived in Ponyville since she was a filly, moved for a few years to Manehatten and then moved back as a teenager with her father.

She had several jobs, both as a mailmare and a moving mare, which always left her feeling very tired most of the time, even after a good night's sleep. When I asked why she had two jobs if it was so exhausting, she mentioned that she not only had her daughter Dinky, but a second daughter, a teenager named Amethyst Star, who went by the nickname Sparkler, to look after.

Unlike Dinky, Sparkler had been adopted while Dinky was still a few months old. Derpy had found her in the Ponyville orphanage (Sparkler had been outside comforting one of the younger orphans at the time) and just couldn’t bring herself to leave the filly there, so she brought her into their small family.

Sparkler had her own job as a foalsitter, but it was Derpy who brought in the most income to provide for the family. She seemed both happy and sad as she said that.

Once our orders came, I told her more about myself, how I’d gotten to my village and how we’d improved since we’d all gotten our Cutie Marks back.

She became a little uneasy when I told her we’d had them tricked away from us by Starlight Glimmer, but she agreed that we all made the right decision in the end, and it was Starlight who was in the wrong.

After checking into the motel I was staying in for the few days I’d be in Ponyville and put my luggage in my room, I spent the rest of the day with Derpy.

She was nice to be around. I wasn’t sure why, but I kept being drawn to her eyes, and not because they looked odd. No, I found them beautiful.

By the time day was over and Derpy had to go pick Dinky up from school and head home to start dinner, I was a little sad our time together had ended.

She then offered me an invitation to stay for dinner, and, since I didn't have any other plans for the evening and didn't want to seem rude, I humbly accepted.

___________________________________________________________

As Derpy and I worked together on the vegetable stew and salads that would be dinner (I insisted on helping cook, even if I wasn’t the best) and Dinky was up in her room doing her homework, the sound of a door opening made me glance behind me.

A pink unicorn mare with a purple mane and tail with a light purple streak in both stood in the doorway, looking at me. She blinks in confusion, an eyebrow raised.

“Oh, Sparkler, you’re home!” Derpy said enthusiastically when she notices I’m not slicing potatoes with my magic anymore and turns to see what has my attention. “How was your day at work?”

The unicorn looks uncertain for a moment as her eyes look up. “Well, I had to foalsit Tootsiflute today, since her parents needed some time to work. She was pretty well behaved,” she sighs, loudly, “but Pinkie Pie dragged the two of us to this strange performance... I’ve still no idea what I saw and I think it’s better I never do.”

I can’t help chuckling. I might have only known Pinkie Pie for a few days, back when she and her friends came to our village, but I knew how hard it could be to be around her.

It is now, of course, that Sparkler points to me. “Who’s this?”

Derpy gets a slight frown on her face, but I can’t help thinking it looks cute. “Sparkler, that’s rude. And I invited Party Favor for dinner.”

Sparkler blinks, glancing between her mother and myself, then closes her eyes and nods. “I’m gonna go see if Dinky wants any help with her homework.”

She walked out, though, while Derpy had her back turned so she didn’t see it, Sparkler gave me a look, one that I think said “Don’t you hurt her, got it?”, puzzling me.

Half an hour later, the four of us were sat around the small dinner table in Derpy’s kitchen, each with a bowl of stew, a plate of salad. Dinky, after finishing small portions of food each time, told us about her day visiting Rarity’s store and watching how she made her dresses.

I couldn’t help noticing Sparkler’s eyes flick to me for a few moments when Dinky mentioned how she’d seen me with their mother before getting to Rarity’s.

I told the girls about myself and asked Sparkler to tell me a little about herself as well. Along with her job as a foalsitter, she also has a short shift at the Hay Burger once a week.

The three of them were part of a herd with an Earth Pony named Carrot Top and a unicorn named Written Script, who is Dinky's birth father.

“Are you gonna be our new daddy?”

The sudden question yanks me out of my thoughts and causes Sparkler to choke on a bit of salad, thumping her chest to get it down, while Derpy did a spit-take that went just over my head.

“N-now, now, Dinky,” Derpy said, her voice quivering a little. “That’s not a question you just ask somepony.”

“But, you two were together when I saw you as my class was going to Rarity’s place,” the filly said, looking confused. “And you said you spent the day with him and now he’s having tea with us.”

I would correct the child, but then saw how she’d come to that conclusion from those examples. Oh, jeez. Did everypony in town think that?

I inwardly frown. For some reason, I'm offended I’d just thought that.

After several minutes of Derpy explaining things more clearly to the confused unicorn, we finished dinner, I had a few conversations with Derpy and Sparkler, then bid the three of them goodnight, heading off towards my motel.

All the way there, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Dinky had said.

Me, a father? I’d never thought about it before, living the way Starlight Glimmer had made us and then the rebuilding of our town had kind of put such thoughts out of my mind.

Now, however, I couldn’t help humoring the idea. Have foals of my own? Maybe I would like that.

My thoughts drifted to Derpy and her children and I felt my face go bright red, suddenly imaging the four of us posed for a family photo.

I shook the images as best I could from my mind, went to my room, bathed and went to bed.

___________________________________________________________

Jenny looks across at me, curiosity in her eyes. “So, you think Party Favor was in love with Derpy back in Equestria?”

I shrug, shaking my head. “Dunno. Didn’t have many other dreams I could really remember. That one stuck though. As for if he loved her or not, from that dream, I’d say it was more of a crush.” I shrug again. “Who knows? Maybe they did fall in love later on, I’m not sure.”

“Well, considering when and how Party Favor got sent to Equestria, they hadn’t gotten close enough to move in together,” Jenny replies, slowing down as a snake slithers across the road, before moving one it’s on the other side. “Derpy and Dinky were in Canterlot and Sparkler was in Ponyville, according to Ben’s dreams.”

I nod, sighing as I lay my head on my folded forelegs. “Doesn’t stop me thinking about where the memory could’ve led though, ya know?”

I glance at her to see her nod. “You’re wondering if those emotions are slipping through, right?”

She’s good.

“I’m unsure, Jenny. Are these my feelings, now developing for Derpy after the time we’ve spent together (small as I realize it is), or are they just Party’s feelings for her from before, mixing into my mind?”

She just shrugs. “I’d tell you if I could, Ash, but I can’t. I’m not a pony, nor do I understand what exactly Discord’s fusing you and Ben with Party and Derpy is doing to you. The ponies could be taking control, or you could both be fusing minds with your respective ponies. We can’t really know unless we find others, maybe even Princess Twilight.”

“So you really think she’s here in this world too?” I ask, cocking my head. I’m still skeptical that Discord would’ve sent any of the Mane Six into the same world as those he’d fused ponies to humans. It would give them a chance to regroup and stop him.

Again, she just shrugs. “We’ll be reaching Des Moines in half an hour. You wanna get some rest before then?”

I shake my head. “I’m not tired.” I smirk cheekily. “I’m not a Pegasus.”

She gives me a wry smile. “Yeah, well I’m pretty sure pegasi have different metabolisms, so they burn through energy faster than other ponies.” She blinks, then giggles. “I can’t believe I’m saying this with a straight face and talking about real creatures.”

I shrug. “Heh. You get used to it. It’s a lot harder coming to term that you are one, than it is seeing or talking about them.”

She nods, before glancing at me. "By the way, I could swear we had more alfalfa before."

I glance at her, an eyebrow raised.

She shrugs. "I just noticed we've been going through more than I thought we should. Either one of you three are eating twice as much or one of us humans is eating some too."

I continue to give her the same look. "What? You think one of you might be eating the alphalfa? Who? Why? It tastes terrible for humans."

She shrugs. "Just making an observation."

With that we go quiet for the rest of the drive, listening to MLP playing from the DVD player and the sounds of Derpy and Honey Rays sleeping in the background.

Author's Note

Sorry i couldn't make the roadtrip more... exciting, i guess? I really couldn't think more than that, plus i wanna get to writing the chapter in Des Moines, leading to Dash causing the country to go on high alert when she rockets across it to go save Rarity and Pinkie from being sold as sex toys.

Hope you liked my reasons for why Party and Derpy knew each other and that i haven't deterred you from reading onward.

Hope you liked this chapter and, til next time, later everypony

Chapter 8

___________________________________________________________

“Aunt Derpy? Aunt Derpy? Aunt Derpy, wake up!”

I snort as I awake, shaking my head and looking around, my vision blurred. The RV wasn’t moving anymore and I could hear the sound of heavy traffic in the not too far off distance. The sky outside the windows should it was very late afternoon, close to evening.

I yawned, stretching out like a cat, my movements waking up Honey Rays, who soon followed suit in stretching.

Once I’ve gotten all the stiffness out of my joints I give my wings a quick flap. They were itching for some use.

I look out the window and see we were in a parking lot. I glance to Kelly, my expression asking the question.

“We’re parking in the lot of the Cozy Rest Motel,” she says, chuckling at my raised eyebrow. “I was searching the net for good motels a fair distance away from too highly populated areas so that you and Honey can at least get some flying done at night.”

I nod, liking her idea. Going over it in my brain, I remembered that the Cozy Rest Motel was on Hartford Avenue. While not as away from populated areas as I’d have preferred, so fewer were likely to catch Honey and I as we flew around in the sky, it was a pretty good area.

Not only that, but Kelly and I had been to the Cozy Rest Motel a few times in the past. It was a nice, quiet place, a good hiding spot while we tried to figure this whole pony thing out.

“Well?” Honey smiles, hopping off the bed, with the intent to head towards the door. “Let’s go in—”

“No.”

Honey turns, looking at me in confusion. “Huh?”

I shake my head. “You, Party and I will remain in the RV. Kelly, Jenny and the kids will be staying in the motel.”

Honey Rays looks uncertain. “Why?”

I gave her a warm smile, hopped off the bed myself and went over to her, giving her a neck-hug. “We’re ponies, Honey. Can you imagine how the staff would react to ponies just waltzing into their motel, especially two pegasi and unicorn, all three of whom can not only talk, but are sapient?”

She stiffens against me, no doubt imagining worse than I’d actually meant.

I sigh. “I wanted us in this kind of a motel because it meant the girls and the kids could rest comfortably and we could still have a somewhat normal routine, while you and I can stretch our wings in the evenings.”

This seems to satisfy her, because she nods and nuzzles against my neck for comfort.

I look over to Kelly and the others, all of them looking unsure and gave them a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll get through this. This is only a temporary fix.” Even though I’ve no idea where to go from here, I don’t say.

Kelly and the others still look uncertain, but less than before and nod, Kelly, Jenny and the kids heading out the door to book into the motel for what would no doubt be a long stay, while we remained in the RV.

“So, what do we do now?” Party asks as we stand in the now very empty feeling RV.

I look around for something to occupy us, since it isn’t dark enough out yet for Honey and I to go flying without being seen and my eyes fall on the portable DVD player.

I point at it with a hoof. “Why not watch ourselves a bit?”

Party rolls his eyes, but Honey shrugs. “Well, I’m only a background pony, but I guess we could.” Then she frowns. “Can we watch the finale?”

I glance at her as I lift the DVD player up onto the table so we can watch it from the bed. “Which one, there’s five to choose, you know?”

Her frown becomes grim and confused, a very odd combo. “The finale.”

It takes a moment for me to understand, mine and Party’s expressions becoming grim too.

The season five finale wasn’t that good, both in that it really sucked compared to the other four and the fact that it was a reminder of our current situation.

“Why?” I finally ask.

She shakes her head. “I think there’s something we missed. Something really important.” She scrunches up her face, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. “I... it’s something big. Something we really should’ve figured out. I just can’t remember what.”

I glance at Party. I hadn’t thought we’d missed anything. Discord beat the princesses, including Twilight, then he went after the rest of us (though that part wasn’t in the show itself) and fused as with us.

I blink, frowning to myself. Something about what I just thought doesn’t sound right, but I’m not sure what it was.

In response to my questioning glance at him, Party shrugs. “Why not? We’d have probably gotten there eventually.”

___________________________________________________________

Party growls as we watch Celestia and Discord as they near the volcano.

We were together on the bed, lying on our stomachs, our eyes focused on the screen. So far I hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary from the last several times I’d seen the finale.

As the moment came when Discord knocked Celestia off of the edge of the volcano, plummeting towards the molten lava, Honey suddenly screamed, causing Party and I to jump and nearly deafening me in my left ear.

I turn to ask her why she screamed, and am shocked to see tears streaming down her face as she sobs, her face in her hooves.

“Honey?” I ask, growing worried, wrapping a wing around her. “Honey, what is it?”

“Th-the p-princess,” she sobs, turning to me and burying her face into my neck. “H-he killed the princess!”

Party and I exchange a glance, not sure how to respond.

“Yeah,” he says slowly, speaking with caution. “So... what about it?”

She looks up at him with a glare fused with grief, something I honestly hoped I’d never see again after witnessing it. “We’re real! He really banished ponies from Equestria!”

Party just frowns. “Yeah, we kinda figured that part out a while ago, Honey,” he waves a forehoof to emphasis.

I, on the other hand, stare at the DVD player’s screen as the end credits to part one end and move to part two.

If Discord had really banished ponies to Earth after the season five finale... then that meant he really... he actually...

“Oh... my god,” I whisper, pulling Honey into a tighter hug, which she accepts.

“What?” Party asks, seeming annoyed now. “What’s going on?”

I turn my head to look at him whilst I hold Honey’s sobbing, shaking form. “The season five finale really happened Party. Every part of it.”

His frown turns to confusion. “What are you getting at?”

“Every part! Even what we just watched!”

He sits there for a few moments, going over what I said, then glancing at the screen to remember what we just watched. His eyes slowly widen and his mouth opens in shock and horror.

“I... Oh, dear god.”

I nod.

If everything that happened in the season five finale was real, and our being ponies proved it did, that meant Discord really did kick Celestia off the edge of the volcano. She really did fall. Even she couldn’t have survived falling into the lava.

Princess Celestia... was dead.

We all remained silent, holding each other in a tight embrace, crying over the loss of our princess and having not known about it for twenty-five years.

___________________________________________________________

The wind rushes through my mane as I free-fall, letting gravity retake control over me. As I reach ten feet I spread my wings out, catching the wind and shooting back up for a moment, as if I were using a parachute.

After a few seconds, I give my wings a hard couple flaps and rise, before returning to a reasonable altitude, Honey flying over, looking annoyed at me for scaring her like that.

I look down, watching the scenery down below. Honey and I took flight at about 8:22pm, after it was finally dark enough to go flying without much chance of anyone spotting us from the air.

We couldn’t fly too close to the city, but thankfully a lot of the land beyond it was baron, with only the occasional house or farm here and there.

I feel so much better now. After we’d realized Princess Celestia actually died, like literally, the three of us spent a lot of time holding each other, crying over the death of somepony we’d all respected.

And no, before you ask, we respected her before we fully became ponies. Once Party and I had started watching the show, we’d felt a deep level of respect for Celestia, especially after we had to watch her as she banished her sister to the moon, and Honey had been a pegasister, so she’d already had respect for the white Alicorn. So, with all that in mind, it wasn’t just the memories of the ponies we are now fused to making us feel this way.

Once we’d calmed down enough, Party had told us to go flying. We’d said we shouldn’t leave him alone, not after what we’d all just gone through, but he insisted, telling us pegasi feel a lot better after some flying and that it would help us clear our heads.

He was right, of course. With the wind flowing over my face and through my fur and feathers, I was feeling totally calm. I’d never felt so at peace as I was in this moment.

And no, my eyesight was not making flying difficult. I’d had enough time now to get used to the slight changes after gaining Derpy’s eyes and flying just felt natural, no doubt my Pegasus blood and instincts helping me.

I could feel every change in the air, the slightest shift. If I wanted to change direction, it was merely a matter of adjusting my wings the tiniest fraction to comply with the wind currents.

Suddenly the faint sound of frightened whinnying floats up to my ears. I glance down. We’re currently flying over one of the farms; the barn is almost directly beneath us.

Thanks to my Pegasus eyesight, I can see what’s happening down below pretty well, despite my height. The barn door is open, probably left open by the farmer or someone working on the farm, it happens from time to time, I’m sure.

However, I see something is walking into the barn and the sounds of frantic whinnying are growing in intensity.

It takes a moment for me to realize what I’m seeing. It’s a coyote, its fur is dark-brown as it skulks into the barn through the open door.

“What do we do?” Honey’s voice says from my right as I remain in place, flapping my wings to stay airborne.

“I don’t know,” I frown, watching as the coyote’s tail vanishes into the barn and the sounds of terrified horses grows louder. I glance to the farm house not too far off. No lights are going on. These farmers must be really deep sleepers. “We can’t just fly down and stop it. Sure, as MLP pegasi we could probably beat a coyote, but if the farms wake up and hear the horse, we might get caught and then—”

My words are cut off as a new set of frantic whinnies reaches my ears and my mind freezes. Even though there Earth horses, I can still tell these whinnies are higher-pitch, younger. Foals.

An Usra is charging through Ponyville, chasing after that bragging pony, Trixie and told younger colts. Dinky is between my legs, our having just returned from a very late night appointment to the doctor’s because Dink had a tummy ache. They’re heading right for us.

“Dinky, run!” I cry, turning and bolting to my right, away from the Ursa’s path.

I get several metres before I realize Dinky isn’t with me. I whirl around to see her standing where we’d been before, rigid as her eyes stare in terror at the giant constellation bear charging for her.

“Dinky!” I scream, running back, putting everything I have into moving my legs faster.

I reach her, but don’t stop, pushing her as I grab her in my forelegs and we tumble, the Ursa running passed a split-second later.

Dinky is holding onto me tightly, crying into my chest.

I wince as I sit up, holding her in a comforting embrace and nuzzle her mane. “Don’t worry, my little muffin,” I whisper quietly. “I promise, as long as I’m around, nothing will hurt you.”

The sound of a terrified whinny snaps me out of my thoughts and I pull my wings in, diving, ignoring Honey’s screams of “DERPY!” from behind me.

I shot to the ground, and swing into the barn, landing firmly on my hooves in the doorway.

The horses are all in stalls lined next to each other, mares on the left, stallions on the right. At the end of the barn, however, is another stall. In this I can’t see anything, but I can hear frantic hooves running around and young whinnies or fright. That’s where the foals are.

The coyote as stalking towards that stall, clearly intent on feeding on the younger horses.

The very idea makes my blood boil.

“Hey! Dog-breath!” I shout.

All the horses stop making noises, clearly confused as to the sounds that came from such an unusual looking equine. The coyote as turns around. It’s is clearly a bit confused itself at the small creature that’s standing behind it when it heard what would’ve sounded like human.

However, it sudden whirls, charging towards me. Due to my size, it probably thinks I’m a foal and will be an easy meal since I’m out of the stall.

It couldn’t be more wrong.

I use my wings and shot up into the air, avoiding the coyote’s jaws and claws with ease.

Its momentum still pushing it forward, it crashes into the wall. It shakes its head, growls then whirls around to try again, only to pause and looking around as I am no longer on the ground.

I whistle by putting a hoof to my mouth (a small part of my brain asking how the hell I did that with a hoof) and it looks up at me, flapping casually in the air.

It cocks its head to the sides, clearly not understanding the situation. I can’t blame it. The chances this coyote has ever seen a flying pony is none, so seeing one would no doubt cause confusion.

Suddenly there’s a loud thunder clap, startling myself, the coyote and the horses. Lightning strikes the coyote’s tail and it yelps, before running out the door.

I blink, not sure what just happened.

I fly out of the barn to see the coyote still running off into the distance, clearly having decided dinner from this farm wasn’t worth it tonight.

I look around at the sky; try to find where the thunderclap could’ve come from. There’s barely any clouds in the sky and none of them look dark enough to be thunder clouds.

“How’d I do?”

I turn around to see Honey lying down in front of me. It takes a moment for me to realize that’s what she’s doing and glance down to see she’s resting on a small dark cloud, just big enough for her to comfortably be on, while small enough that she’s a little over the edge on all sides.

I blink. “How did you...?”

She rolls her eyes. “You’ve been a Pegasus longer than me. Are you tell me you’ve never moved clouds?”

I gape, flapping in place. “I... no, well, I have, but... but how did you...? Where did you find a storm cloud on a night like this?!” I wave a hoof at the sky for emphasis.

She rolls her eyes again. “Pegasus ponies can control weather, Derpy. If we want, we can make a regular cloud into a storm cloud without a problem. Once I saw you rush in, I had a feeling things could go bad, so I looked around and grabbed the nearest cloud and willed it to become a storm cloud. Still don’t know how I did that, but I did. Then I just flew down and once the coyote was close enough to one of the windows and had its back turned, I gave the cloud a hard buck, and released a lightning bolt.” She closed her eyes. “You know the rest.”

I nod slowly. So, we could actually change the clouds at will. Jeez. Hope the government doesn’t learn about that. Controlling the weather? That’s one weapon they should ever get their hands on.

Honey frowns at me. “Why’d you just dive down here, anyway. At first you were all. I’m not sure if we should do anything that might get us caught, then you hear some higher whinnies and shot down without a second thought,”

I blink, before remembering the barn fly back into it, hovering over the foals’ stall. They all still seemed spooked, but they’re also a lot calmer. None of them seem hurt either, meaning they didn’t injure themselves in their panic.

I sigh with relief.

“Why were you so worried about the foals?” I glance back as Honey flies in, obviously having dissipated the cloud outside before following me.

I look back at the foals, many of whom are looking up at me with confusion.

A warm smile comes to my face as I lower myself a little and hold out a hoof. One of the foals, a filly I think, trots over and leans her muzzle up to my hoof, sniffing it.

I explain how, when I heard them whinnying in fear of the coyote, I remembered when Trixie’s bragging convinced Snips and Snails to bring an Ursa Minor into Ponyville, how, I’d been taking Dinky back home at the time, that I ran as the Ursa came towards us, but Dinky was frozen in place and I charged back and knocked her away, just as the Ursa passed where she’d been.

Honey remains quiet for a moment, before she sighs. “You’re instincts to protect a foal, like back then, kicked in. That’s why you came down.”

I nod, leaning my neck down and nuzzles against the filly’s muzzle.

“Wait. You just said you were taking Dinky back home, right?”

I pulled back, looking to her with a raised eyebrow. “So?”

She looks at me with uncertainty. “As in, you you, not Derpy. You didn’t separate yourself and Derpy from that. You said you were with Dinky, not Derpy.”

It takes me a few moments to understand what she meant and I feel my pulse quicken. She... she was right. I’d thought I had been with Dinky in that memory, not Derpy. I’d seen myself as Derpy, not as the two of us being different.

I shudder. What was happening to me?

Honey watches me for a moment, then looks away, uncertainty growing on her face. “Now that these horses are safe, can we leave? I’m getting a really bad feeling about this place.”

I’m pulled from my worried thoughts and look around, before I feel I need to agree. With everything that happened with the coyote, I hadn’t noticed it, but, now that things had calmed down, something about this barn didn’t feel right, causing me to shiver. The way the stallions were looking at us only made it feel weirder.

We turn to leave, myself giving the filly one final nuzzle, before we fly out. The moment we’ve passed through the open doors of the barn, that feeling of unease vanishes.

We close the doors to the barn, just to make sure, if that coyote does come back, it won’t be able to get in again, then head back towards the Cozy Rest Motel.

___________________________________________________________

The closer we get to town, the more we notice something has changed since before we went flying.

Police cars are all along the streets, blocking people from driving.

I glance at Honey and she shrugs.

We take a bit longer to get back than we’d thought, having to duck around buildings and other things to avoid being seen. By the time we manage to get back to the RV, it’s almost 10pm.

The moment we open the door and step inside, we’re bowled over by Party. He’s... crying.

“Where were your two?!” he shouts, holding us both tightly. “I’ve been worried sick!”

I glance at Honey, who looks back with the same raised eyebrow. “Why were you worried?” I ask, looking to him. “If you mean about the police, we got passed them all. Still don’t know why they’re all here though...”

He pulled away from us and looked towards the front of the RV, his horn glowing, the glow encompassing the volume dial on the radio.

“... return to this breaking news bulletin,” a male’s voice said, sounding anxious. “We are urging citizens not to panic, but the government is still yet to determine the identity of the unknown object that passed the US/Canadian border and is soaring over the continent at a rapid speed. Unfortunately, we have been unable to identify the rapidly moving object as it heads towards the Seattle area and all emergency services are all on red alert.”

I blink, before looking to Party, my expression shocked. “They’re making it sound like...”

“A missile,” he nods, his expression both fearful and grim.

Great. Just great. First we start turning into ponies, then there’s a terrorist bombing in Seattle and now as missle flies over the US/Canadian border? What the hell is going on? Why’s the world gone topsy turvy since this month started?

___________________________________________________________

“You know, I’m really getting bored with being in here all day,” Party says from his place upside down on the bed, his head hanging off it.

I groan, massaging my temples. It’s not even half past nine, Party. Don’t start before even ten, please.

It’s been eleven days since we arrived in Des Moines and the fact that we always had to stay in the RV was starting to get to us ponies.

Even then, Honey and I have to be careful when going out, more so than before, anyway. After that missile incident, the authorities were out in force a lot more at night, meaning we had to be sure not to be spotted, either in the sky or on the ground. In truth, we've only been able to go flying during the last five or so days and even then, we've had too many close calls.

“We could always go for another couple rounds,” Honey suggests from her place in the kitchen as she prepares our lunch.

I wince at that, my hooves going down to my stomach.

After three days of being coped up in the RV, with Honey and I being the only ones to get out and only at night, things had gotten tense. It wasn’t helped when Honey and I finally figured out why we kept thinking about Party every time we let our guards down.

We were in heat, and a really bad one, the smell filling the RV constantly. Kelly had even bought us toys (telling her I was in heat had been one of the most embarrassing things in my life) but they’d only weakened the fires in our loins.

The last straw, or at least the beginning of it, had been on the fifth day, when Honey had dropped something under the bed and bent down to get it. This had left her pushing her plot into the air and I couldn’t help staring at it anymore than Party had, who’d been just a few feet behind her.

When he’d asked her if she was okay, she’d glanced back and winked.

I don’t know how, but that seemed to set Party off and the next thing I knew, he was having it big time with Honey, right there in front of me.

Her screams had at first made me think she was in pain, moving to pull him off her, but then I’d realized she was loving it. It got so intense that the whole RV felt like a furnace... which eventually set me off too.

Once Party had finished with Honey, which took two hours, he and I went at it like animals.

I’m still ashamed we all ended up having a massive orgy, right here in the RV, even more so because Party had made me so horny during it that I screamed like a bitch. I'd never even gotten Kelly to scream like I did when Party did me. Talk about a blow to the ego.

When Kelly found out, I begged for her forgiveness. I felt like I’d betrayed her, being not only with another, but a male. However, she had held me in her arms and stroked my mane as I wailed into her chest, soaking it in tears as my body convulsed, all the while she was telling me it was alright and that she understood I’d had no control. When she was little, she’d visited her grandparents’ farm. They’d had horses and she’d seen them during heat season.

Of course, it wasn’t just my feeling like I’d betrayed her that had left me so broken when she found out. As much as I enjoyed Party during our... romp is way too small of a word to describe what happened, it had awakened more of Derpy’s memories. Memories I was embarrassed to remember.

___________________________________________________________

I can barely see, my vision fading in and out as the rain powers down around me.

The stallion in front of me laughs as he looks down at me. His magic levitates my purse and Written's wallet. He tips a few bits out of each, before scowling. “This is all you've got? Talk about pathetic. All that effort for a few measly bits."

He tosses the purse and wallet back, hitting me in the head and starts walking away into the fog as my vision fails me again as I try to focus on him as he walks out towards the Manehatten streets, but I’m falling away. In my last moments, I turn my neck to look at Written a few meters away. He's laying against the wall, bruised and bloodied from trying to defend me from the pony who'd attacked us.

I fade away, Script's unconscious expression the last thing I see.

___________________________________________________________

Everything becomes a haze.

I thought I heard somepony cry out in alarm and shout something at somepony else, before she started saying things to me, but I couldn’t understand her, but, as I try to figure out what she’s saying, everything falls away again and I’m in darkness.

As I float in this darkness I can faintly hear things happening around me, but they’re muffled.

I can feel my body being moved and hear frantic voices around me, but as to what they’re saying, I don’t know.

I hear the sound of wheels squeaking and voices talking about medical things, but I can’t understand beyond that.

And there’s another voice that joins them. It’s male, I think. It keeps telling me everything’s going to be alright, that I’m going to be okay.

Finally everything just stops and I float away.

___________________________________________________________

“You’re telling me it's been ten days, but that we can’t find the bastard that did this to my daughter and her friend?!” an angry voice says, sounding close, but far away at the same time.

“Hue Jelly, please, let me explain?” another voice says, sounding like it’s trying hard to be patient with the first. “We found very little evidence to go on, thanks to the rain. We're trying everthing we can, but the lack of evidence is making him impossible to identify.”

“Da...Daddy?” I murmur.

My vision and senses finally return. I’m laying in a hospital bed. There’s an IV drip attached to my right foreleg. I feel bruised and sore all over.

My dad, a grey Earth Pony with a blonde mane and tail, much like my own and three strawberries for a Cutie Mark is standing there, looking shocked as I look at him weakly.

He rushes forward and pulls me into a hug.

“Derpy,” he says, a sob coming out with his voice. “Oh, thank Celestia. I thought I’d lost you.”

I don’t understand what’s going on. Why am I in a hospital? Why was dad worried about me? Why do I feel sore?

I gasp, fragments of what happened flooding to my mind. I’d been walking through an alley, having just finished a delivery for the post office I’d started working part time for. Script was waiting for me, when a unicorn had come out of the shadows and jumped us. Before I could get a good look at him, he’d grabbed me in his magic and thrown me through the alley, slamming me into the wall.

Script had tried to fight him, before he was given similar treatment to me.

Script?

"Script!" I cry, pushing away and looking around frantically. I relax a little when I see him lying in the bed next to me, before I grimace. His body is covered in bruises and bandages all over.

“Daddy!” I wail, clinging onto him the Earth Pony, my body shuddering with every sob.

“It’s alright, Derpy,” he says, stroking my mane as I cry into his fur. “I’m here, honey. I’m here. And Script is going to be fine, too. The doctors have been taking good care of both of you.”

I don’t know how long I cried, but, at one point, a throat clears and Dad pulls away enough to still hold me, but so I can see the doctor.

He’s a grey unicorn stallion, with a white mane and tail, grey eyes and a surgery mask for a Cutie Mark. Next to him is a brown Earth Pony stallion with a green mane, wearing a police uniform, with a pair of hoofcuffs as his Cutie Mark.

The police pony steps forward, looking away. “Miss Hooves, I’m afraid we won’t be able to find the pony who—”

“I know,” I sob. I heard them talking. I knew they’d never find him.

He the doctor coughs, looking uncomfortable. “Yes, well. You see... the thing is... we were so focused on helping the police trying to identify the pony who did this to you with what little evidence there was when you were both found that we didn’t... um...”

“Spit it out, doc!” Dad says, sounding annoyed.

The doctor sighs, meeting my eyes. “You’re pregnant, miss Hooves.”

Everything freezes as I absorb what he’s said.

“I’m... pregnant...?”

He nods solemnly.

Dad scowls, glaring at the doctor, then at the floor, before he lets go of me and walks out the door, slamming it behind me. Even in my shock I know that look. He’s so mad, he’s going to go find the biggest, strongest tree he can and then back it with everything he has, I fear for the tree, to at least vent some of his anger. It happened a lot when I was a filly and he’d gotten angry at those who’d teased me, back when we leaved in Ponyville.

The doctor and I don’t say anything for a while, the room remaining silent.

Eventually, he speaks up. “Miss Hooves, considering the circumstances, if you wish to abort the foal, we’d understand—”

“NO!” I scream, pulling my sheets towards me.

Abortion? That was horrible. That’s like murder! Even if I didn’t want the foal now growing inside me to be inside me. Besides... he never did that to me.

I look over to the unconsious unicorn in the bed next to me. "He's the father, not the pony who attacked us."

The doctor looks shocked, then closes his eyes and nods. “So, you’d like to put it up for adoption then?”

I blink, before looking down at my stomach.

I stay silent for several moments, thinking about what he’d just said. Could I put the foal up for adoption? It would make more sense. I’m barely a mare. The only reason I was pregnant is Script and I had gotten drunk a few nights before we were attacked, since we were having a small vacation here in Manehatten and it had led to... well...

I look down at my stomach. I couldn’t raise a foal... could I?

After some time, I shake my head slowly. “Can you ask another time? I... I don’t know yet.”

He nods, giving an understanding smile, silence falls again.

“May I please be alone?”

He gives a sad smile and nods, before walking out, closing the door behind him.

Once the door closes, I turn around in my bed, my hoof moving towards my stomach, looking at Script lying in the next bed.

___________________________________________________________

As the memory stops I shake my head. Of all the memories I could’ve regained... It broke my heart in so many ways, now having witnessed so many of Derpy memories.

Derpy learning she was pregnant should've been after a happy occasion, yet it had been tainted by that bastard of a unicorn who'd jumped her and Script. Despite that, everyone had always seen her as a clumsy airhead, some even saying she should’ve left Sparkler to be adopted by a more abled mare and that Dinky should’ve gone up for adoption as soon as she was born or placed just with her father. It was reasons like that that Derpy had become part of a premature herd with Carrot and Script.

From what I could remember of it, Carrot hadn't been too angry when she learned Script had gotten Derpy pregnant. Turned out she had a crush on Derpy for a long time, despite falling in love with Script.

Derpy's father, however, had not been too pleased somepony had gotten his little girl knocked up. I grimaced as I remembered the tense times he and Script had been together. It wasn't until Carrot had suggested the three become a herd that Derpy's dad had backed off.

I’m pulled out of my inner thoughts by a pair of forelegs wrapping around my neck. I lift my head and find it’s Honey. She’s holding me tightly.

“I’m sorry, Derpy,” she whispers, gently nuzzling my neck. “I keep forgetting... I’m sorry.”

I sigh, returning the embrace. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known about that bastard that attacked us. No one save a few ponies did.”

“... Actually... I think I did.” I look up at her, wide-eyed. She looks away, ashamed. “When I got my Cutie Mark... I remembered a birthday party from Honey’s past. You were there... several months pregnant. I... I couldn’t understand it at the time, but I remembered feeling angry at someone for how sad you looked. You were uncertain if you could be a good mother....”

She goes quiet and tears start falling from her eyes. “I’m sorry, Derpy. I’m so, so sorry. I...” She trails off before wailing and starts sobbing into my shoulder.

I just hold her close, keeping my eyes closed. I didn’t blame her. The only reason my memories were so clear all the time was the random chance that the spell Discord hit me with was meant for Dinky. She had no reason to beat herself up over something she could not control.

Party got up from the bed, came over and joined in the group hug.

The calm, pleasant mood our group huddle has created suddenly shatters when alarms start blaring all across the city.

We all jump, Honey and I banging our heads on the ceiling, having flapped our wings to fly away on instinct. I glance at the other two, their staring at me in utter confusion and panic.

What the hell’s going on?

Party activates his magic to turn on the radio, when a sound reaches my ear, causing them to flick back to hear it better. It sounds like something falling, really fast.

My eyes widen in panic as I remember the missile. What if this was another, or even a bomb drop?

I run out the door and look up, using my new Pegasus eyesight to see higher up. My eyes may not be as good as everypony else, but they still have the skills pegasi are naturally born with.

I can’t quite make it out, but I can definitely see whatever it is coming down towards the city.

I frown. Since when did someone paint a bomb cyan-blue and make them trail rainbow colours as they fall? It’s not like anyone would care what colour the bombs that destroys them is.

Before I can think more than that though, a huge explosion comes from above, followed by an utterly deafening blast, that sends me flying backward, slamming my back against the RV.

My eyes are wide as I look up at the sky. It... It can’t be. I’ve only seen this three separate times before, all of them when watching the show.

I just stare up at them spectacular display as a full spectrum rainbow filled sky, expanding outward like a ripple in water, just above the city. It was just unbelievable. A Sonic Rainboom. I didn’t even know that could be done unless you were...

My eyes somehow widen further as I spot a small something, a rainbow trailing following behind it. I only saw it for a second, before it shot of in what I think is the direction of the Mississippi River. It was hard to tell, with my ears still ringing from the boom and the pain in my back from being slammed into the RV.

As I get up, shaking my head a little, I only now start noticing the sounds of car alarms going off along with the other ones, not to mention a lot of windows are completely shattered.

I grimace. That couldn’t be ignored.

Suddenly I realize what I’d just seen. A Sonic Rainboom and I knew only one pony who had every pulled it off. But, for it to be here, on Earth, that would mean...

I hurry; stumble really due to my centre of balance still not working again quite yet, into the RV, my eyes sparkling, the biggest grin on my face. We weren’t the only ponies on Earth.

Honey and Party are just staring out the window at the multi-coloured spectacle still billowing across the sky.

“That’s... that’s...” Honey just has her jaw hanging open, her amber eyes fixed on the sky.

Party slowly turns to me, slight confusion crosses his face as he sees my expression. “Why’re you grinning?”

I giggle. “We’re not the only ponies! That was Rainbow Dash!”

Author's Note

Whelp, there's the rainboom. At least now they know there's a least one other pony. Now they just need to find dash. Also, wonder if Derpy's got a surprise she hasn't realized yet.

Decided to release these to make up for a lack of anything else today

Hope you enjoyed and, til next time, later everypony

Chapter 9

Quick Heads up for readers: This chapter was not proofread.

Chapter 9

___________________________________________________________

“Derpy, are you sure this is where we’re meant to go?” Mark asks as we drive through the farming town.

I nod, as do Honey and Party. We’ll all had the same dream, one where Princess Luna came to each of us and told us where to go to find Rainbow Dash and any other ponies.

It’s been three days since the Sonic Rainboom. We’d barely made it out of Des Moines before things got crazy.

However, when we’d gone to sleep that night, Luna had visited each of us, telling us where to go, Muscatine Iowa. She didn't say why other than there'd be more ponies there.

Upon awakening, I’d given Kelly and Jenny the directions, telling them we needed to head for a farm.

It’s late at night, but we’re still going. We haven’t stopped for anything other than refuelling since the three of us had been visited by the lunar princess.

We need to get to that farm, soon. For all I know, Dinky is there, waiting for me. If she is, I have to be there for her.

We pull up in the driveway of a farm a few minutes later. It doesn’t look too different from any of the other smaller ones around here, aside from being a lot bigger, but it’s where Princess Luna said to go.

Besides, it’s not too hard to figure it out when we saw a sign saying ‘Mac & Applejacks's pony farm: Hooves welcome! Any persons caught trespassing will be fined on sight.’

Yeah. Like a human would put a sign saying that up.

Kelly kills the engine and we all get out.

“Halt! Who goes there?”

I feel myself deadpan as a tall muscular pony figure steps out from nearby. “Did you seriously just say that?”

The pony silhouette falters, before stepping a little closer. “Oh. Hey. Nice to see new ponies.” He then looks us over, blinking. “Derpy? Honey Rays? Party Favour? Wow. Weird combo.”

“Tell me about it,” Jenny says, stepping out.

I recognize the pony now. It’s Shining Armour, Twilight Sparkle’s older brother.

He gives Jenny and Kelly a slightly suspicious look, though that is wiped away when our eardrums are subjected to Sally’s squealing as she spots the stallion.

“Oh, my God! It’s Shining Armour! It’s Shining Armour!”

“Sally,” I say, turning to her, “sweetie, I’m pretty sure other ponies and any other humans here are trying to sleep.”

She blinks, before blushing and looks down with a guilty expression. “Sorry, Aunt Derpy.”

Shining Armour blinks, before glancing at me. “She’s... your niece?”

I nod.

He shrugs. “Alright. Come on, everypony... and everyone, I’ll see if I can find somewhere for you to sleep tonight. We’ll find more permanent bedding arrangements tomorrow.”

___________________________________________________________

“Just set them in straight lines like—no, not like that!” I look up at the human girl named Angie Raimundo, who’s for some reason in charge of us getting cots for more ponies to sleep in set up as she comes over. “Just straight up and down, ten by ten. Remember we’re trying to get the most out of what space we have.”

I scowl, looking at the cot I’ve just set up. “I thought it was straight!”

The human just chuckles. “Not quite.”

I roll my eyes. Great. So I’m still being seen as a bit of a klutz due to my eyes. Don’t you love stereo typing? Does it count as stereo typing? I dunno.

When I got up this morning for breakfast, we were introduced to the other ponies, namely the Mane 6.

I’m given reason to pause as my ears flick back, picking up the sound of Pegasus wings and glance to the entrance to the barn to see a mauve Pegasus wearing a pair of bulging saddlebags walk into the barn. She heads right over to Rarity and Sweetie Belle, who’re sewing blankets from fabrics.

“Hey,” the newcomer say, my brain nagging at me that she sounds familiar. “This is all I could find. Where do you want ‘em?”

“Hmm?” Rarity looks up from where she’s sewing. “Ah, Cloud Kicker. Just set the bolts over there, thank you. And could you possibly help Derpy with the cots before you go?”

I frown. I don’t need help. For Celestia’s sake, I’m not that uncoordinated.

“Sure thing,” Cloud Kicker says, pulling several bolts of fabric out of her bags, then comes over to assist the human and me.

She walks up and smiles at me. “Hey, Derpy. Need a hoof?”

I sigh, pushing my anger down and shrug. “If you wanna help me, sure?”

My mood isn’t bad just because some people and ponies here seem to think I’m a klutzy as I was portrayed in the show. In fact, that’s the least reason, really.

The main reason for my bad mood is Dinky. She’s not here. I know I shouldn’t worry too much. She might turn up soon. Ponies keep coming regularly, so it’s not like there isn’t a chance.

But, I guess a mother’s instincts can’t be ignored. I’m finding myself worrying about her every time I let my mind wander. Maybe that’s why I thought the cot wasn’t crocked. I’d let myself think about Dinky again.

Oh, yeah. That’s another thing I’ve been thinking about. Acording to Dash and the others, we’re not humans fused with ponies. We’re ponies who were turned into humans by Discord and sent to live in this world.

Yeah. So, that’s something I didn’t need dumped on my head. The filly whom I was afraid would be upset with her mother being fused with a human is actually my legit daughter. A daughter I have no clue as to her whereabouts.

I shake my head; I need to think of something else, anything else.

After a bit, Angie Raimundo leaves us and heads over to join Rarity and Sweetie Belle.

I just keep quiet and continue to help set up more cots. Cloud Kicker keeps trying to get me to talk, but I’m not much for it and just keep working.

After a while we’ve finished setting up the new cots, put what pillows and blankets Sweetie had finished beside them, then left to do other things.

I don’t know what Cloud Kicker is going to do, but I’m going to go up for a flight. I need to clear my head.

Taking a running start, I leap into the air, before dropping back down and looking around frantically. Spotting a bush not too far off, I rush over and hurl.

For several minutes I just remain with my head in that bush, brining up my stomach’s contents.

Okay. Dinky being my actual daughter and not knowing where is is isn’t the only thing worrying me right now. Something else has been worrying me... something Honey and I are sharing.

It’s something I don’t want to believe has happened, but I’ve started noticing signs from both of us that it’s the real deal.

...

I think Honey and I might be pregnant.

True, it’s not been too long since we had our... little roll in the hay with Party, but, after that first day, I’ve felt a need to suddenly hurl at random. Honey too.

We’ve also been having some... very odd cravings, mostly pastry related for myself. And no, I don’t mean muffins.

Once I’ve got my stomach back under control, I take my originally planned flight up and find a cloud to sit down on. Settling down, I lay into the soft fluffiness of the cloud and just let my mind wander.

Having so many of my memories of Equestria is more of a curse than a blessing right now.

I honestly wish I could be more like the other ponies down below, even Honey and Party have it better than me. Ignorance is bliss. In all honesty, I’ve never felt that saying was more appropriate than now.

I’ve so many of my memories that it’s painful. I have no idea where Dinky or Sparkler are. Hell, I don’t even know if Sparkler’s even here. For all I know, she’s been in Equestria these last twenty-five years, having to suffer under Discord.

That idea chills me like no other and makes me uncertain which would be worse. Being stuck in Equestria under Discord’s rein, or lost out there in this world.

I don’t know how long I sit up on this cloud, but, as I look to the sky, I suddenly notice the sun is going down.

No wonder I’m getting hungry.

I get up, give my wings a few flaps and fly down at a glide. As I do, I can’t help noticing a speck of white sitting in one of the fields.

Frowning in confusion, I pull my wings in a bit and touchdown, my hooves lightly brushing against the ground.

The pony sitting there’s ears twitch and they turn around, letting me see who it is. It’s Sweetie Belle. She looks... sad.

I move over and sit down next to the filly and drape a wing over her. “Something wrong?”

She looks away, staring up at the sky. “I’m waiting for the others to come back.” When I give her a questioning look, she continues. “The Mane 6, Shining Armour and Big Mac have gone off somewhere. Daring Do told me she heard something about going somewhere, but that’s all I know.”

I blink. “Wait. Daring’s here?” Then I shake my head. “Nope. Sorry. Wrong thing to focus on.” I sigh. “It’d be a lot easier if I didn’t have so many memories,” I mutter to myself. “It’s too confusing at times.”

“Tell me about it,” she sighs.

There’s silence for a moment, before we both turn back to each other, our eyes wide.

“You have your memories of Equestria?!” she gasps before I can.

I cock my head to the side, looking away. “Well, not all of them. I’ve a lot, but not all. More than a lot of other ponies seem to have, anyway.”

“Oh,” she says, her expression saddening and she looks away. “So, not all... like me?”

I blink, before sighing and pulling her a bit closer. “Guess I was a bit luckier, huh?” I can only imagine how hard it is if she has all her memories from Equestria, plus all the years she gained living in this world.

She nods slightly.

We remain quiet for a while, just enjoying the comfort of each other, before she looks to me. “Sorry you couldn’t find Dinky here.”

I flinch, but sigh, giving her a sad smile. “Hey, it’s not all hopeless. She might turn up soon. For all we know, I could wake up tomorrow to find a little unicorn cuddling me under a wing, just like... she used to...”

I trail off, sighing. Maybe having so many memories isn’t such a good thing.

“So... how come you have so many of your memories from Equestria?” Sweetie eventually asks.

I give a sad smirk. “Discord hit me with the wrong spell.”

“Huh?”

I look to her, closing my eyes as a few tears slide down my face. “He hit me with the spell he meant for Dinky, but missed her because I bucked her off my back at the last second.” I wipe my eyes, before opening them again and look back to her. “You?”

She sighs, looking down. “Rarity did something back when Discord was casting his spell on me. It... gave me the chance to have my memories back.”

I give a small chuckle. “Just our luck, huh? The only ponies with any real memory of our past lives... and there’s nothing we can do for anypony else.”

Sweetie remains silent, save a few sniffles.

Little under an hour later, the Mane 6, Shining Armour and Big Mac return, so Sweetie gets up to go see her sister.

However, just as she’s about to go, to turns back. “Please don’t tell anypony about me having my memories?”

I smile a nod, winking. “Just as long as you do the same for me, okay?”

She nods, then heads off, whilst I go to see Kelly. She’s been feeling off for a while, but I’d not really notice much until we weren’t having to worry about getting somewhere safe.

She’s not told me what’s wrong, but I have noticed she’s been eating some odd things lately. I could swear I saw her eating some of the alfalfa this afternoon, covered in strawberry and chocolate syrup.

I head over to the RV and find the kids sitting, listening to a radio. Thankfully it’s a song by that Asian Pop group, Girls Generation and not another news report. I’ve heard enough of those to last me a life time.

I glance around. “Where’re you mother and aunt?” I ask them.

Mark turns to look at me and nods his head towards the farmhouse. “Mom’s helping prepare dinner. Auntie Kelly too, I think.”

I sigh, nodding my thanks, before heading back out, this time to try and find Honey Rays or Party Favour. No point going and distracting Kelly whilst she and any of the other humans helping with dinner are busy.

Besides, we three ponies need to talk about the slight chance we’re adding new ponies to our group. New, smaller ponies.

Author's Note

Here we are again.

SOOOOOOOOO sorry it's been so long since an update on any story, let alone this one. Also, sorry, it's so short or might feel lesser than the rest of the chapters. Still trying to get back into the swing of this one.

I also did some updating with Living Nightmare, so it feels a little bit more in line with the original version, at least when it comes to Stellar's capture.

Anyway, that's it for now.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the reworks to Living Nightmare and, til next time, later everypony

Chapter 10

___________________________________________________________

“You... y-you’re joking, right?” Party stutters, glancing from me to Honey Rays.

We’re standing outside the back of the barn, as this isn’t a discussion I want just anypony or anybody overhearing. It’s been two days since I decided to confront Party about the possible new lives he’d helped create, but he was hard to track down til a few hours ago. Turns out his balloon molding talents were coming in real handy around the farm.

I frown at him, shaking my head. “I realize we can’t blame you if it turns out I’m right, but Honey and I were both in heat when we all...” I blush, looking away and cough, “um, did it. And, with how we’ve been feeling recently... it’s a pretty good guess that two new ponies will be entering the world pretty soon.”

Party’s face seems to lose its colour, though I suppose I can’t blame him. If you learned you may have knocked up to girls you met less than a month ago, how would you react?

“You would think there’d be some home horse pregnancy tests on a farm like this,” Honey says, frowning, before a blush comes over her face. “Unless... you know... everypony’s already... used them?”

That causes colour to return to Party’s face as we both join Honey in blushing.

“Um... s-so... how do we figure out if you to are...?” he shuddered, his eyes widening. “Oh, good lord, please don’t let me be a dad to two already! I don’t think I can take turning into a pony and becoming a dad in the same month!”

Honey sighs, scratching behind her head. “Well... if we could get our hands... erm, hooves on some horse pregnancy tests, we might be able to figure it out. Um, would a horse test even work on us, since we’re ponies and so different from earth ones?” she glances at me and I shrug with just an uncertain expression. I never studied this kind of stuff. I’m a pilot, not a vet.

After a few moments, though, I sigh and look to Party. “Well, we’ll just have to ask one of the humans around here to by some horse pregnancy tests when they go for the next shopping run.”

“Why not just ask your girlfriend?” Honey asks, cocking her head.

My face goes bright red, my eyes widening and I shake my head furiously. “Not on your life! I’m not going to ask my girlfriend to go get a pregnancy test for me because I might be pregnant with the foal of a stallion we’ve barely known for a month! You realize how bad that would look?!”

She wilts a little as she thinks about it.

I take a deep breath, before looking to Party. “No, we’ll ask one of the other humans. Maybe Sweetie Belle’s human sister would be willing to do it. Party, you’ll have to ask her.”

“What?” he cries, his eyes wide. “Why me?”

I deadpan. “Honey and I are the ones who could be pregnant. If we ask, that will look way worse the the stallion who might’ve knocked us up askin’. For one, if you ask, the human won’t even know who you did it with. Whereas if one of us asks, it’s clear we did it with a stallion the human might not know is you.”

“B-but...” he stutters, shaking. “I-I-I-I—”

“She has a point, Party,” Honey says, looking to him. “If the stallion who sired the foals doesn’t ask, it could make him look like he’s trying to weasel his way out of it.”

That makes him wilt further.

Man, I feel really bad for the guy for putting him on the spot like this, since we were all to blame for the situation we could be facing now, but Honey does have a point. Much as it kicks my now pretty much already dead male pride in the gonads, he is the stallion among our trio of ponies; he needs to take responsibility for possibly making Honey and I living homes for two new lives.

We all wait for a long while, before he finally sighs and nods, heading off to go and find a human to see about getting the tests if there aren’t any around here.

___________________________________________________________

I’m sitting on the bed in the RV, my eyes closed. Turns out there are no pregnancy tests for any kind of equine left around here. Other farmers bought out a ton of them and what had been brought to this farm prior the whole humans-turning-into-ponies was used up by anxious mares who had worried for nothing, since they’d all managed to somehow do it without getting preggers themselves.

Though the reasoning behind some of them was both logical, whilst, at the same time, complete bullshit. A lot of them had been from mares who’d had unicorns, before mare and stallion, use their horns.

Yeah, I’ve no intention of ever letting a unicorn bring their horn near that area of my body.

Annoyingly, a lot of ponies and humans who knew said ponies claimed it was reasonable to consider mares had gotten pregnant that way because of magical influxes working like when males release into a female. Heck, they ever said they were more likely to get pregnant that way.

I sigh, shaking my head. Maybe I’m just a bit stressed. The days have just been getting more hectic as they go along.

More and more ponies keep coming, meaning more space is being needed to be found every day to accommodate the growth of the pony population.

Along with helping make more room, I’ve also taken up the task of delivering messages to ponies around the farm. It makes things easier and it does make me feel better that I’m doing my general job, from both before and after I was originally a pony.

On top of that, I've actually found there's a pony here I want nothing to do with. Night Light, Twilight Sparkle's dad. Turns out the guy's a complete ass. He went up to Twilight Velvet and just acted like she'd come to him, no questions or protests. If Rainbow Blaze hadn't stepped in and made him back off, I'm pretty sure I'd have done so myself, but by having my hoof connect with that unicorn's head!

I suppose that could be another reason I've been feeling out of it recently. Knowing that stallion is still on the farm and how he clearly doesn't care for Velvet's feelings grids my gears more than I can honestly say. Though it could just be backlash emotions due to Kelly’s dougebag of a brother and how he treated us.

I have noticed something odd though. Jenny and Kelly seem to be talking to each other a lot. Something is clearly bugging Kelly, but she’s not telling me.

I suppose since Jenny is her family, even if only because of previously mentioned asshat, it makes sense that she’d confide whatever’s troubling her with Jenny... but it hurts me that she’s not telling me what’s going on.

Suddenly the door to the camper opens and I look up to see Party and Honey wearing frantic expressions.

“What is it?” I ask, standing up right away, my body tense. Have the CND found us? Are they surrounding the farm to take us all in?

“Haven’t you heard?!” Party gasps, looking anxious and giddy at the same time. “Everypony’s getting ready to head for Dubuque!”

My tension leaves me and I cock an eyebrow. “Um... why?”

Honey is practically vibrating. “They found it!”

I just keep staring. “Um, who found what?”

“The portal from Equestria Girls!” they both cry. “The portal back to Equestria!”

I stare at them for several moments, before my eyes narrow. “Who said this, exactly?”

Honey keeps grinning. "Shining Armour and Big Mac. They're gathering everypony and human up to head for the portal."

I just stand there, blinking as I process what’s been told to me. The portal really exists. There’s a way back to Equestria. We can all go back.

But... what about Kelly?

My body sags as I think about that. Going by the logic of the portal, if Kelly went through, she’d become a pony like me. But... would she want to?

Plus, is it even safe to travel through the dimensions, when there’s a chance Honey and I are both carrying? For all I know, inter-dimensional travel could screw things up, big time.

My eyes widen as another thought crosses my mind. Dinky! I still don’t know where Dinky is! I can’t just go back to Equestria when my daughter is still out there in the world somewhere, looking for her mommy!

I close my eyes. “I’m not going.”

“To think, it was so close, all this time and... wait. What?” Honey looks to me with worry.

I open my eyes and look firmly at them. “I’m not going back to Equestria.”

They both stare at me as if they think I’m joking.

I narrow my eyes. “I’m not leaving without Dinky!”

They stand there, processing that, before they wear sympathetic smiles.

Honey comes over, hops onto the bed and puts a wing around me. “I understand. Well, if you’re staying, then I’m staying too.”

I look to Honey with a sad smile. “No, Honey. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, I...”

She shakes her head. “Derpy, if you’re staying on Earth, I am too.”

I blink, before leaning into Honey, enjoying the comforting warmth of her body against mine. “Thanks, Honey.”

A sigh makes us look to Party, who’s shaking his head, but grinning. “Guess I’m staying too then.” Before we can protest, he smirks. “Yeah, because, if it turns out I did get you two pregnant, it’ll look real good if I just bugger off to another dimension.”

We both blink, before I snicker. Guess we walked right into that one.

Still, even if we’re staying... it wouldn’t hurt to check out the portal, would it?

“I’ll see if I can find Kelly. You two round up Jenny and the kids. I’m sure they’ll wanna see this.”

___________________________________________________________

“Kelly!” I call out as I fly over the hoards of ponies moving off in the direction of Dubuque. “Kelly, where are you? Kelly?”

When it’s clear I’m not going to find her outside, I head for AJ and Mac’s house.

As I enter, I can hear the sound of sobbing from deeper inside the house. Glancihng around, I see a few humans are just standing around, looking like they’re unsure about something.

I notice a lot of them are packing small bags, some already done and pass me as they head out. I can’t help cocking an eyebrow at that, before shaking my head. Of course, they don’t want their family or friends that turned into ponies going off to Equestria alone.

I mean, yeah, the place was great in the show and from what I can remember... but that was twenty-five years ago. During that time, Discord’s no doubt been having his fun with the place. Sure hope these humans realize what they’re in for.

Putting those thoughts aside, I move towards the sound of the crying, recognising it now and feeling my heart sink. It’s Kelly.

Following the sound of sobbing, I find myself coming to a room I think Dash was using.

Cautiously, I push open the door with my snout and peak in. Kelly is sitting on the bed, Jenny holding her as the former sobs into her shoulder. The kids are also crying, holding onto their mother as their tears stream down their faces.

I take a deep breath, steadying myself, before pushing the door open further and clearing my throat.

At once they all snap their heads in my direction. Kelly leaps up from the bed and barrels over, pulling me into a tight embrace and sobbing into my shoulder.

“Y-y-you’ve come to say goodb-b-bye?” she wails, the pain in her voice hurting my heart.

I clench my eyes shut, before wrapping my forelegs as best I can around her, holding her us close to me as I can. “How?”

She sniffles, before pulling back a bit and looking into my eyes. “Wh-what?”

I glare at her, tears forming in my own eyes. “How can you think I’d just leave you?!”

She looks back, slight uncertainty entering her eyes. “But... you can go home now. Everypony else and even a good amount of the humans are heading for the portal.”

I shake my head, my tears starting to slide down my cheeks. “I... I could never leave you, Kelly! I love you!”

“But...” she looks at me with pained confusion. “But... Equestria’s your home and you can go back after being taken away from it for twenty-five years. Don’t you want to go home?”

I shake my head. “Kelly, wherever I am with you is home! I don’t care if I’m a pony and you’re a human. We’re been together for so long, been through so much together, you think I’d just abandon all that?”

I lean forward, resting my head on top of hers. “I’ll be happy as long as I’m with you. I don’t care if that’s in Equestria, or here on Earth.”

For several moments she remains silent, before she leans in more herself, brushing her head against my fur. “Thank you.”

“Not to mention, there’s a daughter waiting for her here.” We all turn to see Honey and Party, both of whom are smiling.

For some reason, Kelly blushes at that. “Um... wh-wha-what are you talking about?”

Party smirks. “Well, her loving you is definitely one reason she’d wanna stay. But, the other is that Dinky’s probably still out there somewhere. Can’t go back to Equestria and leave a little foal wanting her momma, now, right?”

Kelly’s eyes widen and she blushes deeper. “Oh, wow. I... I forgot about that.” She looks to me. “You... you were already a mother. I... Oh, jeez. I can’t believe I never even considered that.” She pulls me into a tighter hug. “I’m so sorry I didn’t consider that, Derpy!”

I can’t help feeling confused. I understand Kelly cares about me, but something feels off about this. I just can’t tell what though.

“So, are we going to go say goodbye to the rest of our pony kind?” we all look to Party, who’s expression has gone a bit sombre. “Let’s face facts. Even if any of them want to come back, there’s a good chance some of them won’t make it back. They are all going up against Discord, after all.”

We all stay silent as we think about that.

After several minutes, Kelly stands up and wipes the last of her tears from her eyes.

I don’t get to see more than that though, for I’m bowled over by the kids, who wrap their arms around me tightly as they cry. Apparently that’s been really scared of the idea of me going away and them losing their Aunt Derpy.

It takes another few minutes, but they eventually calm down and we all head out, joining the horde of ponies and humans heading for the portal.

I’ll bet Dash can’t wait to sock it to Discord for what he’s done.

___________________________________________________________

“That... wasn’t quite what I’d expected,” Jenny says as we ride in the plane with a few army guys.

It’s been three days since the portal opened, two since Discord was defeated.

Even though we hadn’t gone through the portal, we’d waited to find out what happened. Turns out the CMC, Sweetie’s human sister and Daring Do were able to use the Elements of Harmony to take Discord’s power away, leaving him mortal, which had led to his defeat.

When the first human returned through the portal (by which I mean it was a pony who wanted to return to Earth and the portal made them human again), he’d told everypony and everybody what had happened, all the while a couple others returned.

It seemed choosing not to go in was a very good idea. If I had gone through, I would’ve ended up a human when I came back out.

Now, that sounds all well and good in some ways, but I’d still be female. And, from what I’d seen when Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle came back briefly to say goodbye to their parents suggested about what my body would be like, I’d have ended up with a very large rack.

...

Yeah, I may have come to terms with being a mare, but being a woman with massive boobs? Nope. Nowhere near comfortable enough for that.

“I mean, I know fans drew human and anthro versions of Dash with big tits, but seeing it for real...?” Honey blushes. “Um... yeah.”

“I’m just thankful Derpy had the sense to cover my kids’ eyes with her wings,” Jenny says as we take a sharp turn.

“I can’t really take too much credit for that,” I blush. “It’s not like I intended to get a wingboner.”

“Quiet, guys,” Party murmurs, glancing at the two snoring children sitting against Jenny, they heads laying back. “This ain’t really something they should hear. Plus, I think you're making these guys uncomfortable.”

Looking around, I can see several of the army guys are either blushing like crazy or looking a bit woozy. One of them is even sitting in a position I'm all to familiar with from back when I was a guy and trying to hide something.

I giggle and give an apologetic smile to them all. "Sorry, boys. We'll stop with that conversation, okay?"

They all gives sighs of relief, before some chuckle.

After the portal was closed, Velvet helped us get some supplies, then when I told her we'd be heading for Sydney to try and find my daughter, she did me a favour by actually looking into it herself, even getting us a flight escort so we wouldn't have to worry about not being allowed on planes to Australia.

For those wondering what we’re talking about, it happened whilst we waited for news of what was happening in Equestria.

~June 1st~

“Derpy, please, stop pacing,” Honey begs as I pass her for the umpteenth time. She's holding a cup of soup provided by the ponies with Twilight Velvet. “You’re wearing a groove into the grass.”

I stop, glancing down and see a line of pure dirt among the brown grass around us.

“Dear, I know you’re anxious...” Kelly says softly.

I sigh, looking to her. “Can you blame me? We don’t know what’s happening over there and they're a chance we could have bomb dropped down on us all because some idiot thinks us ponies will bring destruction to the Earth. Nopony’s come back since they went in and that was hours ago.”

It’s only been a few hours, technically, but I’ve had to fight the urge to just jump through the portal to find out what’s going on.

We're not the only ponies that remained behind. Like I said, Twilight Velvet remained, along with the group of ponies that came with her. The humans that came with them have actually gone into Equestria to lend an assist, since they're all Army Ranger, thus have experience with fighting in wars.

As for what I said about a bomb? Rainbow Blaze, Dash's dad, and Fleetfoot are currently up in the sky, patroling for an F-22 that's been sent to drop a bomb on us if something goes wrong.

Yeah, understand why I'm pacing anxiously now?

“Not to mention,” I bite my lip, “I’m worried about Dinky. We’ve no idea where we’ll need to start looking, provided we even have the option without having to worry about Discord rearing his ugly head.”

Party lights his horn, holding me in place. “Derpy, we’re all worried.”

Honey sighs, looking down. “If only one of us had known the human that turned into her, ya know?”

Sally looks to her, cocking her head. “Whatcha mean?”

Honey giggles. “Well, I’ve had some chats with some other ponies, including the Mane Six and Velvet over there. When the curse started wearing off, they went through old photos, saying the names of whomever was in them. Several times they faltered and, instead of saying the human name, they said the pony name.” Her expression saddens and she looks down. “Too bad that’s not happened to any of us.”

This seems to bring down all our moods; Party even releases his grip on me. I don’t move though.

We all just wait in silence, each of us glancing at the shed where the portal is every few moments.

Suddenly the silence is broken by a filly's cry. “Somepony's falling!”

We all whirl around and see a little pink Pegasus filly with no Cutie Mark pointing up.

Turning my attention to the sky, I see somepony is indeed falling. With my Pegasus eyesight, I can just make out it's Fleetfoot. She's tumbling. I don't think she'll be able to pull out of it before she hits the ground.

“It’s only got one wing out, the other ones straight up, it’s hurt,” another voice calls out, confirming my fears.

I flare my wings, getting ready to try and catch her. I may not be a speedster Pegasus, but I'm not letting one of my own fall to her death when I can do something about it.

I end up not getting a chance though, as i see Velvet run out and teleport away. Watching with my eyes focused on the falling Pegasus mare, I see Velvet reappear near Fleetfoot, in the air.

At first I'm wondering if Velvet's finally lost it, but then, they teleport again, not even moving and start... going up?

I blink a few times, trying to process what's going on, before it clicks. Velvet made a vector change on the teleport, so the momentum they'd picked up on the way down was working in reverse, sending them falling in the opposite direction.

At part of my brain wants to argue as to how that's even possible, but I shake it off. I'm a pilot, or was before the change, anyway. I know how inertia works and working that with what I know about how teleport spells work from the show, it makes sense.

As one of the ponies that came with Velvet levitates Fleetfoot in her magic and takes her to get some medical help, we all jump when Jenny shouts, “Wait! It has!”

We all turn to her with confusion, indicating for her to elaborate.

She just stares at me. “Ben, you did! The day this all started!”

I just give her a more confused look. “I did what now?”

She points at me. “You called someone Dinky! You were talking with them as they wished you happy birthday over the phone. I didn’t think anything of it back then, but, you called them Dinky as well as... um... what was their name again?” she glances at Kelly, who’s giving her an odd look.

Velvet looks at me in both confusion and concern. "Derpy, does she mean you knew your daughter when she was still human?"

I frown, thinking back to that day. Was it really only about a month ago? It feels like years.

It takes a moment to sift through my memories of that day. I woke up next to Kelly, we noticed my Cutie Mark, we went down and had breakfast and learned I couldn’t eat red meat anymore and then Tom called me to wish me happy birthday.

“So, after the call came, I called Tom Dinky?” I blink, frowning. “What does that... have to...?” My eyes widen. “No.”

Jenny nods slowly as dawning seems to enter Kelly’s eyes.

"I... but if I called Tom... but, then that would mean...”

“We were closer to Dinky than we could’ve thought before the curse started lifting,” Kelly gasps, her hands flying to her mouth.

I just remain stock still for several long moments as my brain goes into shutdown. My daughter is on Earth and she’s in Australia, the very country Kelly and I were in before I changed into a pony.

At that moment, the portal shimmers and a human steps through.

~June 4th~

“I’m still surprised Velvet was willing to arrange this all for us” Jenny says as she looks out the window.

“I still can’t believe you’re okay with calling me Derpy now,” I honestly say, shaking my head.

She sighs, glancing at me. “Well, once we learned Discord was beat and all, I just felt it was disrespectful to keep calling you Ben when you seem so much more comfortable with Derpy.”

I’m sure you’re thinking, why am I not on edge, when we know where we need to go to look for my daughter? Well, I am. And the fact we're in a plane and it's messing with my Pegasus senses isn't helping. I’m just much calmer than I probably would be thanks to Kelly.

Man, fingers are wonderful. You don’t realize it til you’ve lost them and turned into a small equine but, Sweet Celestia do they feel good running through your mane.

It helped calm me down and I’ve been able to think this through. Velvet had done some searching and, though it was tricky, she'd found report via the Australia Military that apparently, there is a settlement of ponies a six hours drive outside of the town Dubbo. Once the plane lands, we'll be escorted to the rental car area, where Kelly has hired one for us to drive to the settlement.

___________________________________________________________

“So... Dubbo,” I say as we sit in the hired car.

After we were dropped off, the army guys had to return to the US to handle some other things, but I told them to tell Velvet I said thanks again. Honestly, there's a chance she helped me find my little filly. Both of us being mother's I know she understands my worries and I cannot be thankful enough for her help.

“Yeah,” Kelly says, glancing at me as I sit next to her in the passengers’ side. “Not really what I was expecting, either. I mean... Dubbo? Really?”

I chuckle nervously. We passed through Dubbo before I woke up, after stopping so Jenny could ask for directions to the pony settlements, and are now following the road that should lead us there.

“Worried about Dinky?” she asks softly.

I nod, my shoulders slumping. “I mean, Tom was living in Sydney, getting ready for uni when I first started changing, so, if he really did turn into Dinky, she should’ve been able to get to where we’re going, but... what if she didn’t? What if she’s somewhere else and we’ve come all this way for nothing?”

She just gives me a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m sure she’s there.”

We laps into silence for the rest of the drive. After about two hours, we come to an overturned truck.

As the van slows down, we all glance at each other.

“I don’t like this,” Jenny says, frowning.

I nod. Something’s off here. “Let us get out first. If there’re any ponies keeping watch, it’ll be better if they see other ponies first.”

They nod and I open the door, Party opening the side door and him and Honey stepping out.

“Don’t move!” a voice suddenly calls out and we freeze. "You are in the sights of a half dozen rifles."

Okay. Not the best start.

“Hello?” I call out, looking around, trying to spot where they could be hiding. “I’m Derpy Hooves. These are my friends Party Favour and Honey Rays. We’re looking for my daughter and someplace to stay.” I doubt we’ll be able to go back to America at this point, so may as well make a home here, right?

There’s silence for several moments.

“And the humans?” a different voice from the first says.

I frown. “My girlfriend and her sister-in-law and niece and nephew. In short, my family.”

There’s another pause.

“What’s that accent?” a third voice asks.

I smirk. “I’m from Australia, too, but I’ve lost a bit of my accent from the change.”

After several more moments, a stallion steps out from behind the truck, looking us over.

I almost take a step back as I gulp. This guy can give Big Mac a run for his money when it comes to height and bulk. He has a tan coat and a forest green mane.

He looks us over, before smirking. “Well, if yer lookin’ fer refuge, ya’ve come ta the right place.”

Oh, God. Now I remember why I preferred not to live in the more rural areas. I may be Australian, but even I can’t stand that Outback Aussie accent.

I glance back at the van. “So... can my family come with or what? They’re good people, I promise. If not for them, I doubt any of us three would still be around today.”

He looks at the van skeptically for several moments, before nodding. “But you’ll have to park that van somewhere else though. We don’t need others causing problems because they see a human vehicle.”

I nod, before, looking back at the van and indicating with a wing for them all to come out.

They do, Kelly and Jenny looking anxious, whilst the kids looked curious.

I explain and Jenny quickly parks the vans in a more hidden spot, as we were requested to do.

We start following the stallion. “Took guts, bringing ’em here, ya know,” he says as we walk, each of us carrying whatever we could bring with us in bags on our backs, us ponies using saddlebags, of course. Again, I find myself mentally thanking Velvet. Even if we didn't need all these supplies she gave us, we can use them in the camp itself.

I frown at him. “Well, considering we’re ponies, we weren’t expecting to have guns pointed at us since all we’re doing is trying to find my daughter.”

He frowns at me curiously at that. “Who is your daughter and why do you think she’s here, of all places?”

My frown deepens. I can hear the accusation in his tone. I don’t understand why he’s being so suspicious of his own kind.

“I think she’s here because she was living in Sydney before her change and, seeing as this is the only pony settlement I know of right now, I’m hoping she’s here,” I state firmly, as I speak, we end up in a large area and I stop talking out of shock, despite us still moving.

“Wow.”

He smirks. “Yep. Pretty big, ain’t it?”

This place is huge. And there are ponies everywhere, though there seem to be very few pegasi or unicorns. In fact, the majority seem to be Earth Ponies. I can’t help noticing a farmhouse and finding some humour that those places seem to be where ponies come together.

Unlike Applejack and Big Mac’s farm, there’re way more tents. Nothing seems permanent, though. It’s clear the ponies don’t plan on being stuck just in this area for long.

“So, you’re daughter?” the stallion asks, his tone snapping me back to the present. “Provided she’s here, of course. Or really exists?”

I inwardly growl. What’s with that condescending tone? We’re ponies too, for crying out loud! Why’s he gotta treat us suspiciously?

I snort. “Oh, she exists, buster. And her name is—”

“Mommy!”

I stop, my eyes widening. That voice!

Before I can really think, though, something slams into me, causing me to hit the ground, all the while, a little filly is rubbing her head against my chest, sobbing happily, “Mommy! Mommy!”

I’m stunned for several moments, before reality catches up to me and I wrap my forelegs around the sobbing filly. “Dinky.”

“Dinky, what’re you...? Whoa.”

“Well, this is a surprise.”

"Oh, boy."

The new voices cause me to glance up, only to leap up, forcing Dinky to let go and moving into a defensive stance.

Standing before me are three unicorns and an Earth Pony, two of the unicorns and the Earth Pony are mares with pink coats for the unicorns and a yellow one for the Earth Pony and the other a stallion with a grey coat and a dark-purple mane and tail. The mare on the right has a slightly dark tone to her coat, her mane and tail are purple and Pinkie Pie levels of poofy, both tied back in a braid. Her Cutie Mark is a cupcake with pink icing and a cherry on top.

The stallion causes me to blush upon recognizing him. It's Written Script, Dinky's father and the other is Carrot Top!

The other mare unicorn, however, has a much lighter coat and her mane is purple with blue streaks, tied back in a long ponytail. Her Cutie Mark is a single four-point purple star, more like a fancy square, really, with another white fancy square behind it in a position so you only saw its corners around the purple one, with a light blue trail making it look like a shooting star or a comet doing tricks.

Party and Honey also get into defensive stances, Party in particular glaring at the unicorn.

“Mom, wait!” Dinky says, trying to get out from under my protective wing. “Starlight helped me.”

I hesitate, glancing at Dinky, before looking back to the two unicorns mares, both of whom look uncertain, Starlight Glimmer the most.

“Yeah, I realize I’m not exactly the most liked pony from the show,” she says slowly, clearly wary that she’s dealing with a protective mother, “but, it is true.”

“She’s not lying,” Sugar Belle says, looking to Party Favour. “Listen, I don’t remember much, but I’ve seen us in the show, Party. I know you don’t have a reason to trust her after what she did to us, but Starlight really is a better pony than the one in the show.”

Script just looks at me firmly. "Derpy, she helped us save Dinky and Carrot."

"Please," Carrot says, taking a step forward. "Just here her out. Starlight isn't as bad as the show makes her out to be."

I look back to the filly under my wing, who looks up at me pleadingly.

After a few moments, I take a deep breath and look to the other two unicorns. “Alright. Let’s start from the beginning.”

Author's Note

So, finally got past the farm. Discord's been beaten and Derpy's back with her kid again.

Good news, right?

Well, expect that they're in Australia and Turnbull's PM. That ain't a safe place for a foal to be raised with him in charge.

Now we learn what happened to Dinky and how her change happened. Plus, why the heck are Starlight and Sugar Belle with her? And what's this about Starlight helping Dinky?

You'll have to wait and see.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and, til next time, later everypony

Chapter 11

___________________________________________________________

“I know you’re here,” the voice calls out and I shudder, pressing myself against the other pony.

He’s a brown stallion with a mop for a Cutie Mark. I don’t really know him, but he pulled me into this hiding spot the moment I ran passed, placed his hoof on my mouth and made the sign for quiet.

We’ve been hiding here for several hours.

After he took Mommy, I was lucky enough to be saved by a Pegasus who took me away. But we got separated and now I’m on my own.

“Got you!”

We both scream and bolt, glancing behind us to see the large figure of mismatched creatures looming above us.

Suddenly his gone, I turn back and scream as I see he’s reappeared directly in front of me.

I skid to a halt, my heart hammering in my chest as he stands over me. He leers down at me, before scowling as the stallions pushing me behind him and I cower.

Discord just smirks and snaps his talon before I scream; pain erupting in my body as the white mist suddenly surrounds me.

Five score divided by four,
Your memories removed, your body confused!
For your insolence you must pay,
Cast off to a land far, far away!
I've scattered the six, and that's just the start of my tricks,
Your mind shall be weak, your outlook bleak!
Forgetting everything and living like a fool,
You have all lost, now no one can stop my rule!”

"Mommy!" I scream as everything turns black.

"Mommy!" I shout as I leap up in bed, panting heavily. I’m covered in sweat and my bed is soaked.

What the hell was that? I... I can’t remember what I just dreamed about, but it scared the crap out of me.

This happened last night, too. I don’t know why, but I remember feeling just as terrified as I do now... though, I also feel a sadness, one I can't explain.

"Hmm, shuddup, man," my roommate's voice groans from the next room. "S'too early fer shouting."

Once I’ve managed to calm myself down, I glance at the digital clock on my bedside table and groan. It’s only two in the morning.

Flopping back down, I put my pillow over my head. Great. Have a scary as shit nightmare I can’t remember but still feel the fear of and wake up hours before I need to get up for work.

___________________________________________________________

“Hey, wake up!” I shout, pulling the covers off of my roommate.

He grumbles, not bothering to open his eyes as he moves his arm, trying to find the covers I’ve taken off him. They’re at the end of the bed now. Only way he’s getting them is if he sits up and moves around, which would defeat the whole purpose in the first place.

I roll my eyes and move over to the curtains. With one swift yank the room is flooded with sunlight.

“Aw, c’mon,” he groans, putting a hand over his eyes.

Another eye roll. “Max, classes start in an hour. If you don’t move your ass, we’ll miss what little’s left of breakfast. Plus, I’ve work today so I need to leave soon. I’m not in the mood for getting a fast food breakfast today.”

He grumbles, slowly pushing himself up and lifts his shirt to scratch his stomach. “Why can’t it be the weekend?”

I chuckle. “Cos Sunday was yesterday, buddy. The day after my 25th, remember? Yours is today.”

Name’s Tom Wills. I turned twenty-five yesterday, work in a factory and have started study at uni in Sydney. The lazy bum in bed is Max Halton. He and I have been roommates for a while now, but I’ve only really become a uni student recently.

If you’re wondering, yes, I did manage to get back to sleep after that shit scary nightmare I can’t actually remember beyond how scared and strangely sad it made me feel, but I don’t think I had another dream, or nightmare. But I felt groggy as heck when I got up, so I’d waited until I felt better to get up, before then getting my roommate up too.

He grumbles again, though what I hear this time annoys me more than makes me joke around. “Man, if I were one of those unicorn ponies I could just shut you up and sleep.”

I know exactly what he’s referring to and I scowl. “That’s not funny, Max. It’s really serious. Don’t joke about that kind of stuff.”

Two weeks ago, strange rumors started floating around about something odd. People were turning into characters from the show My Little Pony Friendship is Magic.

At first it was just that, rumors. A few people had PMed each other via certain websites after their blogs kept mysteriously disappearing, saying how they’d seen the ponies being in certain areas.

I’d thought it just as much a rumor as anyone else, until one of our classmates changed. It had started on her 25th birthday. First she’d found an image of a hunk of Swiss cheese on her hips.

At first, she’d had no idea what it was, until she was watching the beginning of season five during lunch break and she shouted “That it!”

Some of us had gone over to see she’d paused it during the season premiere, at a point when the Cutie Mark vault was on screen. She was pointing at one of the marks that looked like a hunk of Swiss cheese.

During the next few days, we all saw her change from a human to a pony. She became a bright green Earth Pony with a darker green mane and tail.

I never really got to know the girl too well, despite us both being into My Little Pony, so I can’t say much about her. All I know is she was studying to work at a cheese factory making, ironically enough, cheese, just like the mark she’d gotten.

Thing is... no one’s seen her since a few days after she finished becoming a pony. She just... wasn’t around anymore.

Several other students and even a teacher or two have also gone missing, each of them having either been or starting something similar. On their 25th they woke up and found they had Cutie Marks.

Days later, some even on that very day, they’d just no longer be around.

Several of the students and other teachers had inquired as to what was going on, but the Dean just said they’d transferred out to another uni or going on leave in the case of the teachers.

Now it’s his turn to roll his eyes. “Dinky... sorry. I didn’t mean...” he groans, before sitting up, scratching behind his head. I just... you know.”

I sigh, leaning against the wall, my arms folded as he starts to dress. “I won’t lie, when I put the fanboying brony part of me aside, it is a little worrying. I mean, all the students and even teachers just vanishing? I mean it’s...weird. Still,” I grin, “becoming a pony is every brony’s wish at some point.”

He stops, having just finished pulling off his shirt, his expression deadpan. “You really wouldn’t be the least uncool with turning into one?”

I scratch my neck, grinning sheepishly. “Come on, man. Even if you’re not a fan of the show, getting wings or magic would be pretty cool. And if you became an Alicorn it’d be even better, you’d get both.”

He just shakes his head. “You told me the only Alicorns are Princesses. As in female. I’ll keep my manhood, thanks.”

I chuckle. Having a roommate who understands why I like being a brony and willing to talk about it is good. Beats the guy at work who just doesn’t think of me as a friend because of it and forces me to keep quiet.

“Well, I guess losing my manhood would kinda suck. Though, if I could.... get... ”I trail off, my eyes going wide. “Holy shit, dude! You too?!”

He freezes in place, his eyes widening, before he straightens up and looks down at his hips. On each one are a trio of carrots.

He shakes his head, flopping down on the bed. “I... I’m gonna become a pony too. I’ll disappear, just like the others.”

I frown, stepping forward and putting my hands on his shoulders. “Dude, take it easy. For all we know, the dean is telling the truth and they all just transferred or went on vacation or something.”

He looks up at me, before his eyes widen. “When did you dye your hair? And it’s longer than I remember.”

I blink, frowning. I look over to the mirror on his desk and have to rub my eyes a few times. My red hair is longer. I noticed on my birthday it was longer, but hadn’t paid it much mind. However, now my hair is not only even longer than yesterday, it reaching bellow my neck, but it's almost completely blonde.

He looks to me with worry. “Are... are you changing too? But, you turned twenty-five yesterday. Wh-why would the change start happening now?”

My hair does look a lot like a mane now, doesn't it? I quickly pull my boxers down and look at my hips, before sighing. No Cutie Mark. I’m not changing into a pony. Phew.

I pull them back up, before frowning. If I’m not going through the same thing, why is my hair longer and why is it now full blonde?

Putting those thoughts aside, I return to comforting my roommate. “Dude, we’ll get through this. I don’t know how... I’ll see if I can get some time off or something. Just try and get through the day.”

He nods slowly, looking down.

There’s silence for a long while.

“So... who do you think I’m turning into?” his voice is barely a whisper.

I lean down, examining the mark. “Well, three carrots. To be honest, I never paid much attention to ponies with carrot marks. The only one that comes to mind is Carrot Top, an Earth Pony mare, but I’m sure there are other ponies with this kind of mark. Maybe I’ll see about doing some research during my lunch break. I might find something.”

He nods again, before getting up and slowly getting dressed. It’s a good thing it’s Autumn here. No one will question why he’s wearing jeans, thus hiding the mark.

___________________________________________________________

I walk into the factory, passing my card over the scanner to clock in at 8:25, five minutes before my shift, walk around the corner and onto the factory floor, deciding it’s only five minutes, so I may as well start working now.

I notice a few of the other employees staring at me, but I just put that down to now being a full blonde. If asked, I’ll just say I decided to dye it completely.

Moving to my locker I put my bag away and head for where I’m pointed to go by the supervisor. Today I’ll be labeling San Remo fusilli pasta bags today.

There’s a conveyor belt set up so it can go down the line. Every time we finish labeling a bag, we put it on the conveyor and it goes down to the guys boxing the bags.

I move over to one of the empty tables, since I’ll be labeling today. Looking to the table across from me, I inwardly sigh. It’s Jonathan, the guy I used to be friends with until he let his hate of MLP break our friendship.

I honestly tried to keep it going, to mend the bridge he was burning down, but he just wouldn’t accept my friendship again.

He’s looking at me with confusion, before his eyes narrow. “Oh, so you’re one of them now, too,” he says in a tone that’s clearly meant to be insulting.

Frowning, I glance around, before catching my reflection in the metal of a nearby machine and nearly have a heart attack!

My ears! My ears are now on top of my head and they’re pony ears.

My quickly reach up and feel them, feeling dual sensations from before the hands’ touching them and them feeling the hands.

Not only that, my eyes have changed. They’re now golden, a colour no human eye can be, unless with contacts and I know damn well I don’t use those.

I look around and see several others are staring.

I stop, take several deep breaths, and try to calm down, like my childhood friend Ben Smills always tried to get me to do. After a few minutes, it works and I’m calm.

I sit down, only to yelp and stand back up. Man, that smarts. It’s now I notice how uncomfortable my pants feel, like there's a large bulge in my underwear that's pressing hard against them. I pull my pants down a bit, only now noticing something I hadn't before, that I'm standing with my heels lifted, and reveal a blonde tail, just like my hair.

I sit down, being sure not to sit on my new tail this time and get ready to be passed the labels by my ex-friend so I can do the job like everyone else.

As I sit and wait, I frown down at the table, trying to figure this out. Why am I changing? I didn’t get a Cutie Mark. Everyone I know who’s changed got a Cutie Mark, so why the hell am I changing when I don’t have one.

I blink as a thought occurs to me. What if... what if I’m turning into a pony that doesn’t have a Cutie Mark yet? But... wouldn’t that mean I’m turning into a foal?

I sigh, my head slumping. Great. That means, once the change is complete, I’ll have to go through puberty all over again. And, not only that, but as a completely different species. Great. How do ponies even really go through puberty. The show never exactly touched upon that subject, for obvious reasons.

I tap my fingers against the table, thinking. So, if I’m turning into a foal... who exactly am I going to become?

I glance at my reflection again, focusing on my eyes and ears. Golden eyes.

Hmm. Well, there is that filly with the green coat during the episode Twilight Time.

Ah! Nope, not her. Her eyes might be golden, but her mane isn’t blonde. Well, technically it is, but it’s a much darker, more orangish blonde. Plus, my ears aren’t the same colour as her coat, so that rules her out anyway. Plus, I just remembered she has a Cutie Mark, an orange, I think.

After several more moments of thinking, I slam my head onto the table. The only pony without a Cutie Mark that I can think of is Dinky Doo. Plus, now that I glance at the colour of the fur on my new pony ears, they match her coat colour, purplish-grey.

I sigh, closing my eyes. Great. So, not only am I turning into a pony child and don’t even have a Cutie Mark to show for it, but I’m going to be female.

Well, at the very least I’ll be a unicorn. That’s some bonus points, I guess. Lose one horn, gain a new one, right?

After several more minutes of wallowing on those thoughts I sit up and look to where I need to start working... only to frown. I don’t have any labels.

I blink, before looking over to Jonathan, who’s keeping his head bent down, a scowl on his face.

I cock an eyebrow. He’s the one with the roll of labels, so he’s meant to give them to everyone working on this job... so why hasn’t he brought some over already, or put them on the conveyor belt and called to me so I could grab them?

“Yo, John?” I call, waving to him. “Can you pass down some labels. Just put them on the conveyor and I’ll grab ’em.”

He doesn’t even react.

I frown slightly and call louder. “Jonathan, please pass me down some labels so I can do the job.”

Still, he doesn’t react. It’s like he isn’t even listening.

My frown deepening more at the fact I am clearly being ignored, I get up and walk over, stopping in front of his table. “Can I please have some labels, John?”

He finally reacts, looking up at me with a glare. “No. Go fuck a horse, you freak!”

My right eyebrow twitches. “Excuse me?!” I say, my voice rising. “What the hell’s with the attitude? I just want to do my job and you’re not letting me by refusing to give me some labels. What the hell, man?”

He scowls coldly. “You’re one of them! Go back and join your fellow horses in the paddocks!”

“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!” I shout, gritting my teeth. “Are you seriously refusing to help me do my job because I’m turning into a pony?! Is your pony hate that thick?”

“FUCK OFF, FREAK!” he shouts back, standing up. “LEAVE ME ALONE OR I’LL TELL THE GOVERNMENT WE’VE AN ALIEN AMONG US!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

We both turn to see our supervisor Chris walking over, a stern and confused expression on his face. Chris is an older man, with green hair and a wide bald patch atop his head.

He stops in front of us and looks between the two of us. “Okay, what’s going on? Why all the swearing?”

“He’s refusing to let me have any labels to do the job you gave me, Chris,” I point at Jonathan, “all because I’m turning into a pony from My Little Pony and he hates everything to do with the show.”

At once, Chris’ expression sours and he looks to Jonathan in annoyance. “Jonathan, is this true?”

“Why should I help a freak like... that?!” he retorts, pointing at me. “It should be locked up and studied, not working alongside us!”

Chris’ expression sours further. “So, you willingly disrupted work production, just because you don’t want to help Tom, and all because he’s turning into something you hate?”

He nods, before glaring at me again. “Glad you finally see reason, Chris. It’s bad enough you let it work here when it wasn’t a fan of that stupid thing.”

“You’re fired, John.”

“Finally!” Jonathan says, looking to me with a sneer. “About to you got rid of this...” he pauses, before turning to Chris in confusion. “Wait. What did you say?”

Chris just glares at him. “You’re fired, Jonathan. Get your stuff from your locker and leave this factory. I won’t have you insulting other employees anymore. I’m sick of it, and it’s always just because you hate something Tom likes.”

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” he yells, glaring at the older man as if planning to murder him. “You’d take this freak’s side and fire me for simply having common sense?!”

Chris just points away. “Out, now! Or I’ll call the police and have you arrested for causing a disturbance.”

For several moments, Jonathan glares at Chris, before looking at me and snarling. “You’ll pay for this.”

He walks off towards his locker, being sure to slam into me as he goes passed.

I glare after him, before a cough pulls my attention to Chris.

“Take the day off, Tom,” he says, looking serious. “Maybe the next two, at least until this has finished. Don’t worry, I’ll clock you out and arrange it as Sick Leave.”

I want to argue, but sigh and nod, heading for my locker and getting my stuff, then head out.

Before catching a bus, however, I pull a hat out of my bag and put it on, covering my pony ears. Thankfully, my new long hair will cover the sides of my head, so no one will see the bare skin where my ears used to be and I can hide my tail in my pants.

As for the eyes, I thankfully have a pair of sunglasses, so I can wear those until I get back to the dorm and then worry about what comes next.

___________________________________________________________

I toss my bag across the room as I close the door, walk over to the cough and plop down, only to yelp and stand up.

Reaching into my pants, I pull my tail back out and then sit down again, making sure not to sit on it again. That hurt like hell.

Now seated, I just let my mind wander. So I’m turning into a nine-year-old pony, huh? Guess I’ll have to drop out of uni and go back to primary school.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I grab the remote and turn on the TV. Maybe that will get my mind off things.

Flicking through the channels, I stop on Nine News and feel my face turn into a scowl.

“The Prime Minister addressed worrying concerns about humans turning into what can only be described as ponies from the children’s show My Little Pony Friendship is Magic,” the female news anchor says, before the image cuts to footage of the Prime Minister at a press conference.

“There is no confirmation that humans are turning into animals,” he says with a straight face. “No proof has come up that such a thing can even happen. Humans don’t just turn into animals. It doesn’t happen. This is all speculation and nothing more.”

I turn off the TV, still scowling. I know damn well he’s lying. The fact that every time someone posts anything about it online and it vanishes almost instantly means someone’s stopping people from spreading the word.

Whatever is going on, the government are purposefully covering it up. Why, I have no idea.

It would make more sense to be open about this. I’m pretty sure this is a worldwide thing.

I sigh, flopping back and close my eyes. I need some rest.

Author's Note

Well, Dinky's already close to full change. Wonder how his/her roommate will react.

Also, to clear up any confusion, the change started on the Sunday, in the early hours. The reason he wakes up with his hair almost completely changed is because of the time difference.

For example, Twisted Spectrum's time frame idea of the change progression on Day 2 of the change is this

Transformation is pretty slow on this day.
- During the day hair starts to grow long, by 3pm hair is visibly longer and slightly colored.
- Eye color has also changed by then.
- By 4pm, Walking gait has changed (the affected are walking with their heels raised) and their hair is even longer and has even more color.
- By 8pm: tail forms, and ears change. Hair is also 100% changed to look like a mane now.
- Middle toe is also larger, they have thicker toenails by now.
- By midnight unicorns have early horns and have some ability to use magic.

Now, Tom/Dinky's change is based on a pm/am flip, so, instead of his/her hair starting to get longer and turn blonde at around 3pm, it happened at 3am, whilst he was asleep, so he wouldn't have noticed.

Also, he didn't notice the change in the way he was walking because they'd only just gotten up and the fact his roommate's turning into a pony kinda distracts them, along with the eye colour change. again, too distracted by the one just changing to notice the one who's further along in the change.

And the tail and full hair colour thing? Happens at 8am, but Tom doesn't notice at first because he was standing on the bus, so hadn't notice the tail appear, nor notice the full colour change.

Next chapter, it's still the same day and the two roommates discuss what they're going to do now that they're both turning into ponies.

And, since my proofreader Kitsy-chan okayed this and the next two chapters, it's already up. Go have a looksy if'n ya want :raritywink:

Edit: As it turns out, i didn't flesh out those chapters as much as i originally thought i did, so i'm adding more to them before bringing them back.

Later everypony

Chapter 12

___________________________________________________________

“Sis! We won! We won!” I cry out as I bounce around Sparkler’s legs, the blue ribbon floating above my head in my magic.

Sparkler just chuckles, before pulling me into a hug. “Yeah. And it’s all because I’ve the best little sister in all of Equestria.”

I giggle as she nuzzles my nose, which I return.

“I can’t wait for next year!” I cheer, giving my big sister a big smile. “We’re the best sisters ever!”

She giggles. “Well, I can’t think of anypony I’d rather do it with.”

My eyes light up and I close them, snuggling into Sparkler’s embrace. “I love you, big sis.”

___________________________________________________________

“Big sis,” I murmur, shifting about on the couch to get more comfortable.

“Holy—! Dude, you are turning into one!”

I snort, feeling disoriented. Where’s sis? Who’s voice is that? Where...?

Blinking, finding myself waking up a bit more, I open my eyes to see Max standing before me. His eyes are wide as he looks me over. Then he frowns. “Wait. You get to be a unicorn?”

I cock my eyebrow. How does he know that?

He points to my head and I lift up my hand, only to feel a large something jutting out from my forehead.

I sigh, sitting up and look at him with a sad grin. “Yeah. Turns out I am turning into one. We just didn’t notice because the pony I’m becoming has no Cutie Mark.”

He blinks, confusion playing across his face. “Wait. What? But, that’s not how it works, is it?”

I sigh, shaking my head. “Maybe ponies other than those with Cutie Marks got sent over.” I blink, before smacking myself in the face, thankfully not the forehead, as I don’t know how painful hitting my hand against my new horn would be. “Oh, jeez. Talk about messed up. How many kids does that mean are now out there?”

We remain silent for a moment.

“Wait. What was that about big sis?”

I look up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Huh?”

He folds his arms. “When I came in you said “big sis”. Dude, you’re an orphan. How can you have a big sis?”

I blink for several moments, before looking down and feel tears flowing from my eyes. I don’t know why I’m crying, I just am and I feel a great want inside I can’t explain.

I feel motion on the coach and look up to see Max has sat down, wrapping an arm around me. “Hey... you okay?”

I sigh, looking down, shaking my head. “I have no idea, Carrot.”

We sit for a few minutes as I do my best to get a grip and stop crying. Once my tears stop, I turn to Max, frowning. “How come you’re here? It’s not lunch break yet, is it?”

He shakes his head, then smirks. “I could ask you the same thing.”

I snort, looking down with a scowl. “Jonathan.”

“Oh, for the love of...” he murmurs, shaking his head. “What did he do this time because of his pony hate?”

I look at him. “Held up production because he refused to help me do the work because I’m turning into a pony. Finally ended up getting fired, thank God.”

He whistles. “Doubt he was happy with you.”

I chuckle. “Since he found out I’m a Brony, was he ever?”

He frowns, before shaking his head. “Yeah. You’ve got a point.”

Suddenly my ears twitch and I stand up, looking around.

“Tom?” Max asks, looking up in confusion.

I hold up a hand, frowning.

I can hear faint voices, as well as running footsteps.

It’s something I noticed on the way back from work. My hearing is now a lot different. I could pick up things I couldn’t before. Getting more detail is trickier, though.

“Hey! What the hell’s going on?” a faint voice calls out. It sounds like one of the guys from IT class.

“Hey!” that’s the voice of the dorm room manager. “What’re you all doing in here? Get out!”

Curious, I move over to the door and open it a crack, peeking out.

What I see makes my gut drop. Guys in some kind of army-like uniforms are pressing down the halls, kicking the doors of each room in before moving to another.

I’ve seen enough movies to have a good idea where this is going and, with the way the government having been hiding the whole pony thing, I have a very good idea just why these army people are here.

Glancing around quickly, I grab the money tin where we keep our extra cash, plus our rent, stuff it all into one of my zipper pockets then hurry over to the window and yank it up, looking out.

“Okay, they haven’t completely surrounded the campus yet. If we move fast, we should be able to get to your bike.”

“Uh... Tom?” I look back to Max is just looking at me with worry and confusion. “Why’re you...?”

“No time!” I say, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the window.

“Dude, what the fuck?!” he cries in panic.

“We’re only a floor up!” I chastise, ready to jump. “Would you rather be taken away by military without knowing where you’re going?!”

“Huh?” is his only response, before he yells as we drop out the window.

I manage to land on my feet, only to be the cushion to break Max’s fall.

“Ow!”

“Sorry,” he says, getting off me, before frowning. “No. Wait. I’m not sorry. What the hell’s going on?!”

“There he is!”

We both turn to see several man in army suits hurrying our way. What shocks me is they’ve got guns!

“Guns?!” Max cries, his eyes wide.

I grab his hand and start pulling him in the direction of the student garages, where his motorbike is. “I’m turning into a pony, the government is trying to keep such a thing quiet and there are military guys with guys after us! Put it together, man!”

It takes a few seconds, but he seems to get the idea and starts running on his own accord.

“If we can get to your bike, we can get away and—”

We round a corner, only to find a bunch of soldiers on one knee, their rifles aimed right at us.

My eyes widen in horror, before a bright flash blinds me, along with a massive wave of dizziness hits me like a freight train.

“What the—? How did we—? Dinky, did you just teleport us into the garage?”

I wince, putting my hands over my ears. “Not so loud,” I moan sleepily. “Head hurt.”

“Um... right. Uh...” I feel myself being directed towards something, before feeling like I’m being sat down on something. “Hold on a tick.”

I just nod, finding it hard to stay conscious for some reason. I can feel something warm trickling down from my nose, but I can’t really think clearly.

“Okay, now you shouldn’t fall off if you lose consciousness or whatever.” I notice I feel closer to Max’s body and lean into it as I hear metal doors opening.

I manage to snap out of it a bit when he revs the engine. Seriously if a motorbike reving loudly doesn’t make you alert, I don’t know what will.

At once he shoots out the open door. I can’t make too much out, my vision is all blurry. We pass several greenish things and I hear gunfire, but that’s it before everything goes black.

___________________________________________________________

“Now, are you sure you don’t want to come to Canterlot with us, honey?” Mom asks as we’re about to board the train to Canterlot.

Sparkler just nods. “I wanna hang with some of my friends here in Ponyville. We made plans for today. I hope that’s okay, Mom.”

Mom nods, smiling warmly. “Of course. Just be sure to stay safe, okay?”

“It’s not okay!” I cry, hurrying forward and clinging to Sparkler’s leg. “I wan’ big sis to come too!”

Sparkler just smiles down at me and tussles my mane. “Sis, you don’t want me there. I’ll just be the annoying teenager. You’ll have lots of fun with Mom.” She leans down and nuzzles my cheek. “Besdies, it’s only for a day or two, then you’ll be right back and we’ll make up by playing all day.”

That fills my heart with joy. “Okay, sis!” I nuzzle her fur, before pulling back and waving, then hurry to join Mom in the train cart. I move to the window, open it and wave to Sparkler as the train starts to move. “See you in a few days, sis! Promise!”

“It’s a promise!” she calls back, laughing. “See you both in a few days.”

___________________________________________________________

“A few days.”

“Hmm? You say something?”

I slowly open my eyes and move to sit up, but feel a hand hold me down.

“No way, mate. You fainted. You’re staying down til your feeling better. Here.”

I feel a plastic bottle pressed to my lips and gratefully drink. I feel really thirsty. Hungry too, now that I think about it.

As my eyesight returns I see walls of what look like an old brick building.

“Where...” I groan, putting a hand to my head. “Where are we?”

“The old abandoned church,” Max says, helping me to slowly sit up. “You passed out whilst I was driving. Good thing too, as you normally yell my ears out whilst I ride fast.”

I cock an eyebrow at him.

“Let’s just say the times you’ve called me reckless before were nothing compared to what I had to do to get those military goons off our tails.”

I blink, before noticing Max has yellow pony ears pocking out of curly orange hair that looks more like a mane. His brown eyes are now green.

I frown, before noticing his a lot taller than I remember. “Um, when’d you get taller?”

He shakes his head. “You’ve got it backwards, mate. I didn't get taller. You got smaller..”

I blink, feeling confused for a moment, before I facepalm. I’m turning into Dinky, a foal. In human terms, a child. I’m shrinking to the size of a child.

I shudder as a thought occurs to me. I’m going to have to go through puberty again, this time as a female pony. Great.

As I move, something feels really weird. I look down and notice my pants and underwear have fallen down, giving me a very clear via of my lower region... I’m struck by a weird feeling. I mean, yeah, I feel what’s down there now and it’s weird as hell, but... I don’t know. It still feels... almost normal.

Studying my legs next, they seem to have changed in shape a bit, my pelvis feels really weird. It seems I don’t have feet anymore. I have hooves instead, with greyish-purple fur rising up from each hoof and up my leg. Now that I’m looking, my arms are covered in the same kind of fur too. My hands feel really, really stiff.

I frown, looking back to him. “How long was I out?”

He sighs, sitting down. “Almost two days. You had me worried sick. I couldn’t even take you to anyone.” He looks at me with a firm expression. “Don’t ever do that again!”

I blink, cocking an eyebrow, before I remember. I somehow managed to teleport us into the garage and it was hard to remember much after that, though I do remember a warm feeling around my nose.

“Well, Twilight did say teleports were hard in the show,” I say, scuffing my hooves on the ground. “Guess I’m not good enough at magic to teleport without a problem.”

“How did you even do that?” Max asks, leaning back against the wall. “I mean... yeah, sorry, this is kinda gonna be kicking you in your now non-existent nuts, but you’re a child, or will be soon, anyway and you were changing back into one at the time, barely even had a horn. How’d you manage a teleport?”

I shake my head, looking down. “I honestly have no idea. I was just so scared when I saw we were being shot at and had the image of the inside of the garage in my mind, wanting us to be there instead.”

He sighs, then smirks. “That new voice is pretty cute though.”

I blink, before frowning. “New voice?”

He nods. “You sound more like a little girl now... er, filly, I suppose.” He sighs, putting a hand over his face. “Man, this is messed up.”

I look down, wrapping my arms around my now smaller legs. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

We sit in silence for a while, before he sighs again and passes me a wrapped up salad sandwich.

“I went and bought as much food as I could with what we had whilst you were still out,” he says in answer to my questioning look. “Most of the stuff are things we don’t need to keep cold, so we’ll be good there. Though, I got that sandwich cos I guessed you’d want some veggies. Don’t worry, it should still be good.”

I nod, unwrapping the food with a bit of difficulty due to my stiff hands and take a bite, savouring the flavour. I never really liked salad much, I’m a meat eater mostly... well, was. Guess I can’t now, since I’m turning into a pony and all.

We sit in silence for a bit, the only real sound being my chewing.

As I do, I notice my mouth feels different.

“Mirror?” I ask through my food.

He reaches into a knapsack I didn’t even notice before and he holds a small mirror in front of me.

I sigh. I look like a little kid dressed like a pony. I’ve a snout, which would explain why chewing feels so odd from normal, my teeth are probably different too.

Once I’ve finished eating, I look to Max. “So... what now?”

He (or is it she now?) grins, nodding down to the knapsack. “We’ll wait a few hours, then we’ll ride my bike as long as we can.”

I cock an eyebrow.

Max rolls his (her?) eyes. “We’re both turning into ponies. You’ll be a full pony within maybe twelve or so hours. Me? I’ve still maybe a day or two before then. Once I go full pony, I won’t be able to ride my bike.” Max snorts. “Couldn’t have turned into a unicorn, could I? No, I have turn into the kind that can’t ride a bike with magic.”

I deadpan. “What, you think unicorn’s can work their magic just like that?”

He (she?) looks to me. “You did. You teleported us into the garage, which helped us get t’ my bike sooner and we were able to get away. Teleporting’s s’pposed t’ be some of the most advanced spells, right?”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I teleported, but it’s not like I was trying to. I just wanted to get in the garage. I didn’t even have time to realize what happened, especially with how it took it out of me.”

Max sighs. “Well, whatever the case, just rest up. I don’t know how long we’ll have to ride, probably will have to go off road. Safer that way. Less people to see us.”

I look down, wrapping my arms around my legs, nodding. “Clothes?”

“Did manage to get some stuff,” Max says, grabbing something and tossing it to me. “Suits your new self right now, plus will be easier t’ ditch when you’re full pony.”

I nod, taking the clothing, before turning back with a deadpan glare. “Pink? Really? You couldn’t find something in a less girly colour.” It’s a long pink dress. True, it’ll make it look more like I’m dressing as a pony as opposed to turning into one, but still, man. My manhood’s already been taken. Does he have to rub it in?

Mac smirks. “You’re turning into a pastel pony. The dress is too girly, but that isn’t even in the slightest?”

I just glare, before groaning and get up, struggling to get the dress over me. Once it’s on, I hear him snickering and turn to see him with his head over his mouth, trying badly not to laugh.

“One word, I swear and I’ll buck you once I’m full pony.”

After a few moments, Max gets control of himself and smirks. “You’re not the only one stuck with something she doesn’t want.” He pulls out a pair of leather pants and a brown woolen jacket. “I gotta wear this t’ hind my ponyness until I finish the change.”

Grumbling, I folding my arms, which only makes him drop to the floor, laughing.

“Oh, God! Where’s a camera when you need one?” he guffaws, rolling from side to side. “That look... that face... that outfit... it’s all too much, man.”

I snort. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up.”

Once he calms down, he comes over and sits down, grinning. “So, what was that about a few days?”

I blink, looking to him, an eyebrow raised.

“As you were waking up,” he says, scratching under his chin. “You said something about a few days.”

“A few days...” I look down, wondering what he means. Closing my eyes I try to remember. “I... I was going to see someone in a few days and... and...”

Tears start to fall from my eyes. I... I don’t understand why, but I suddenly feel really sad. It’s as if I broke a promise to someone really important to me, but I can’t remember who or what I promised or even why it was so important.

I feel Max sitting down next to me and wraps his arms around me. I turn, burying my face into his shirt and just sob.

I don’t know why, but I need to cry. I feel guilty about something, but I don’t know what.

Once I’ve managed to calm down, we just sit and wait a bit until it gets a bit darker. When Max is satisfied with how dark it is, he changes into his... or rather her new clothes and we head out and she straps her knapsack onto the bike.

That done, she gets up and on the bike, before helping me up and tying me with the same rope as before, making sure I’m connected to her and won’t fall off. With that done, I wrap my arms as best I can around her waist, she revs the engine and we take off down the road, leaving the old church and lives behind.

___________________________________________________________

We drive for a long while, by midday we have to pull over so Max can redo the ropes, due to my change completing.

We drive all the way to Maryvale, but, due to having to take several off road tracks to find our way without being spotted, we have to stop and stay in a small inn not too far outside the town.

With her change so soon to be finished and to pay for the room and for the staff to not ask questions about Max’s “strange dog”, Max sells the bike to an auto shop in town so we have a little extra cash.

The next day we wake up to find Max is completely pony now too, meaning we have to sneak out the inn, leaving our clothes behind, it’s not like we’ll need them now anyway. Once out, we start moving on hoof out of the town.

Knowing a bit about the area thanks to a project I did back in high school, we slip through a gate and out onto the Ponto Reserve. Since this area is protected by law, even if someone sees us, they could mistake us for normal small horses with odd brandings. A quick movement of my mane covers my horn, completing the look a bit better.

Nodding to Max, we start off, walking through the reserve towards the direction of Dubbo. The place is pretty out in the middle of nowhere compared to most of Australia, so I don’t see why we can’t try finding something here.

Several hours of walking and we decide to stop under a try and rest. Max uses her mouth to take a bottle of water out of the saddlebags she’s wearing (it’s really two knapsacks twisted together to sort of resemble a saddlebag, but it does the job) and passes it to me.

Smiling, I take it, fumbling with my hooves, before using my teeth to screw the lid off and take a drink. She is doing the same.

My drink done with, I screw the lid back on (okay, first chance I get I am so figuring out my magic, doing this with my mouth is a pain in the ass), I pass it to Max, who has just struggled to do the same, then takes my bottle and puts both back in the bag.

I sigh, looking around. It’s getting a bit dark, so traveling wouldn’t really be the best idea. But... I haven’t gone camping in years and we’ve no tent, nothing. Just what Max has in her saddlebags and the fur on our backs.

“Come on,” Max says, getting up, shoulder her saddlebags. “There’s some cover a bit in that direction,” she point into a crop of trees. “We’ll rest there tonight, then try moving on in the morning.”

I nod, getting up and follow after her, before frowning. “How do you know that?”

She blinks, frowning herself, before shrugging uncertainly. “I dunno. I just have this feeling in the earth.”

I frown, before looking away. Is that a thing with Earth Ponies or is she just yanking my tail?

I blink, before snickering. Hey, I finally get that joke.

We walk for a few minutes until we reach an area where there are some very low hanging branches from a few trees.

Using a dexterity that I am confused by, Max reaches into her right saddlebag, yanking a large tarp out and, with a twist of her neck, flings the tarp up, letting it land atop the branches, creating a makeshift tent.

Winking at me she trots under it and nestles down, nodding her head to indicate I come over.

I just frown at her. “I call bullshit.”

She raises an eyebrow in confusion. “Huh?”

I point a hoof at the tarp. “How the hell did you manage that?”

She blinks, looking up. “Um....” she frowns, cocking her head. “I don’t... know.”

I pout, before trudging over and nestle down against her, curling up and wrapping my tail around me for extra warmth.

As I close my eyes, my thoughts turn to my best friend Ben Smills. I wonder what he's doing right now. I really wish I’d given him a call or something before this mess started.

“I hope Mommy’s okay,” I murmur as I feel sleep’s gentle hold falling over me.

Author's Note

Been a long time since i uploaded something for this, huh?

First off, this is one of three chapters i'm waiting for the goahead to publish from my proofreader. i don't know when i'll get back to actually writing this fic, we'll have to wait and see.

Well, Carrot and Dinky are now both completely pony. Wonder what will happen in the next chapter. Will they reach the settlement, or will something come up only to reveal more surprises?

You'll have to wait and see.

Til next time, later everypony

Chapter 13

___________________________________________________________

“Aw, is da widdle baby gonna go cwy to his mummy?”

I sniffle, whipping my nose with my shirt sleeve as the three bullies stand over me.

“He doesn’t have any, remember?” another of the three says, sneering at me.

They all laugh and start kicking me as I lay of the ground where their leader pushed me.

I curl up, trying to shield myself.

“Hey! Leave him alone!”

The kicking stops as I hear a grunting.

Glancing up, I can’t help smiling as I see Ben standing in front of me, his fists held up.

“Who wants some?” he growls, glaring at each boy in turn. “I warned you never to pick on Tom! Now who wants some?”

I smile, before everything suddenly shifts.

I’m now a little filly, maybe five and a grey Pegasus mare is standing over me protectively, her wings flared as she glares at the three stallions.

“You will not harm my Dinky!” she snarls, her teeth bared.

The three stallions looked at each other in confused fear, before turning and bolting away, their tails between their legs.

Once they’re gone, Mommy turns around and settles down next to me. She pulls me into a wing hug and nuzzles my cheek.

“Mommy will always protect you, okay.”

I sniffle, snuggling into her fur. “I love you Mommy.”

___________________________________________________________

“I love you Mommy,” I murmur, snuggling against the warm body

“Hmm? You say something, Dinky?” a voice that isn’t Mommy’s says.

I suddenly panic, getting up and frantically moving away, tripping on my own hooves and flopping to the ground.

As my eyesight clears from having just woken up, I see a yellowy blur standing up. Something about it is familiar though.

“Tom? Tom, what’s up?”

Tom? Who’s...?

My eyes widen as everything snaps back. I look around, seeing we’re in the bunch of trees we’d fallen asleep in last night.

It all comes back. Finding out I was turning into Dinky, Carrot getting her mark, riding away on her bike to escape those military guys, coming out onto the reserve so we could be safe on our way to find somewhere we can stay safe and live normally.

And, the biggest thing of all... Mommy’s not here with us.

I slump, tears welling in my eyes before trailing down my cheeks. “Mommy!” I sob, putting my hooves over my eyes. “I want my mommy!”

I hear movement and feel Carrot come over and settle down next to me, wrapping me in a neck hug.

“I... I’m sorry this happened to us, T... Dinky. Maybe... maybe we’ll find her on the way to... wherever it is we’re going.”

I sniffle, rubbing against her fur. It’s the only comfort I can have right now. Carrot isn’t Mommy, but... she still feels important and not just because we were friends as humans.

A loud howls makes us jump and whirl around.

Walking towards us are seven dingos and the looks in their eyes say they’ve found breakfast.

Squeaking in fear, I press myself against the ground.

Carrot quickly gets up and stands over me in a protective manner, her head bent down. She digs her hoof in the ground, like a bull getting ready to charge.

One of the dingoes rushes forward.

It almost happens too fast for me to see. Carrot whirls around, leans forward on her front legs, then thrusts her hind legs out.

They impact against the incoming dingo, making a horrible cracking sound, bucking it, sending it flying backward.

The dingo skids along the ground a few metres. All the others turns to look at their fallen pack member, who struggles to get up, it’s breathing sounding labored.

They all look back at Carrot, who has turned around, her eyes wide, before they narrow and she digs at the ground again, glaring at the dingoes.

“Who wants it next?” she growls, looking from one Australian wild dog to the next. “I’m and Earth Pony and protecting a foal under my care! And, judging by that dingo’s movements, I just busted a rib or two, if he’s lucky. You really wanna try me?!” She snorts.

The dingoes glance at each other for several moments, clearly under what to do. They make up their minds, however, when Carrot takes a firm step forward, and they bolt, their injured pack member doing its best to keep up with them despite its injuries.

After several moments, and the howls had faded away, Carrot’s body slumps and she sits on her flank, breathing heavily.

“I... what... what just... happened?” she says, shaking her head.

I sniffle, before feeling her come over and press her body against mine.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. We’ll be alright.”

“I want Mommy,” I whimper, nuzzling against her.

She sighs and pulls me in a bit tighter. "I know, sweetie. I know."

___________________________________________________________

After the indecent with the dingoes, we wait at bit to recover, before Carrot takes some food for breakfast out of the bags and we eat, though I don’t do so very enthusiastically.

That dream, followed by the dingoes... makes me want my mommy so bad. Where is she? Where did Discord send her? Is she okay? Has she already changed? Did someone capture her, like we almost were back at uni?

This is all I can think about as I eat, which doesn’t help my appetite any.

After breakfast is done, we pack up what we can (Carrot finds it particularly hard to get the tarp down) and head out across the reserve, myself staying as close to the bigger pony as I can.

We walk for several hours, passing some native animals. They glance our way, but don’t pay us much mind, so we just keep moving. By midday, we stop and rest by a riverbed.

As I move to take a drink, I hear a sound that chills me to my core and causes my legs to freeze up. A gunshot.

It’s followed by a scream, one that sounds very human, but familiar at the same time. And it’s a scream of pain.

Without warning, Carrot grabs me in her teeth by the scruff of my neck, tosses me over her shoulder to land on her back, then charges in that direction, barely giving me any time to wrap my forelegs around her neck to stay on.

We turn a bend and see several men tossing what look like crate into a large carrier truck. Think G1 Optimus Prime.

Carrot skids to a halt as she sees what I see. The five men are all carrying guns, those one is scolding the other.

Carrot turns to move, but drops down with a cry, causing me to tumbled off her back.

Glancing behind her, I see another human coming out from behind a tree, a gun held up and aimed at us.

“Dinky...” Carrot says in a dreary voice, her eyelids drooping, her head slowly bobbing up and down as she tries to stay awake. “Run.”

I can see a tranquilizer dart sticking out of her flank!

Suddenly I feel a sting in my chest and glance down to see one sticking out of my chest.

At once I start feeling dizzy. I look to the human with the gun as he lowers it, grinning as he and everything else turns blurry.

I try to call out, but as I do, everything fades away and I’m consumed by darkness.

___________________________________________________________

I groan as consciousness returns to me.

Slowly, I open my eyes, blinking several times.

I’m in a dark area. I can see some light filtering in, but I can’t really tell where I am.

“Oh,” Carrot’s voice groans.

Pushing myself up, looking around, and see my vision is blocked by wired bars. At once I panic and take a closer look.

I’m in a wire cage, like the kinds they put animals in.

Glancing around, I can see four more cages like the one I’m in, two are smaller than mine and the other two a bit bigger than mine. I can barely stand in here without scrapping my horn against the roof.

“Carrot?!” I call out, now actually able to hear how my voice has changed, but shake it off as I try to know if my roommate is here with me. I half hope she isn’t. Then maybe he’s gotten away.

“Y-yeah, Dinky?” her voice replies before she groans again. “Ah. Remind me to tell your mom she was right about that cherry cider.”

“Carrot, snap out of it!” I cry, my voice squeaking with fear. “We’re in cages!”

“Hu—wha?” she says, her eyes becoming visible in the dark, which then widen in horror. “Wh-what happened? Ack! My-my hooves! They're strapped down! Why are they strapped down?”

“That’s the least of your worries,” a gloomy voice says from the other cage.

We both turn to see a pair of redish-purple eyes are looking sadly at us from the cage.

“Wh-why?” I stutter, my legs shaking beneath me.

The other pony gives a sad chuckle, before shifting into a position so that we can’t see her eyes anymore, making it look like she vanished. “We’re being taken away be the government. Why else would we wake up in cages?”

My heart sinks further and I let my legs give out from under me. Curling up on the floor of my cage, I feel so alone, even though Carrot is just a few feet away from me.

I want someone to hold me. I want someone to tell me it’ll be alright. I want... I want...

“I want my mommy,” I whimper, tears starting to fall down my muzzle and onto the floor of my cage.

Suddenly I hear a gurgling, sobbing sound. Looking up, my eyes fall on the smallest cages. I can barely make out more than a pair of small dot eyes, one pair is light blue and the other is brown.

It takes a moment, but I suddenly recognize the eyes and feel like I’m going to be sick. It’s Pound and Pumpkin, the Cakes’ twins. How sick are whoever has us that they’d put baby ponies in cages, and separate ones at that?

“So, why’d we stop here, huh?” a muffled male voice suddenly says from outside.

“Rumour is there’s a huge settlement of those freaks not too far from here,” another says, sounding smug. “The others are scouting ahead whilst we guard the truck. Since they were on this reserve, they must have a means of getting here. We’re getting paid enough just for these three. Imagine how much Spectrum will give us for a whole settlement?”

“Easy money and hello early retirement,” the first voice snickers.

“And the best thing, the higher ups won’t even known we went further than ordered. Far as they’ll be considered we found ’em shortly after picking up this lot.”

They’re sending us off somewhere, probably to do experiments on us. I don’t want that. I don’t. Why is this happening? Why?

“Wonder if we should cut off the horns of the two with them?” the second voice asks suddenly.

I feel myself go rigid, though my tears keep going. My horn? They... they want to cut off my horn?!

“You sick bastards won’t even get the chance!”

“Huh?”

“Who said—”

Suddenly there are bangs, gunshots and thumps coming from outside.

I try moving as far back in my cage as I can. What’s going on out there? Who’s firing guns? What’s happening?

It only lasts for a few minutes. Once all the loud noises stop, I hear a voice, the one from right before all the noise, speaking in an authorative tone.

“Hold them down, boys. We don’t want any getting any ideas about escape.”

Suddenly an area of the darkness opens wide like a pair of steel doors. The brightness where it was once dark causes me to slam my eyes shut.

As I keep my eyes closed, I hear the sound of steps on the metal floor on which our cages are sitting.

I don’t dare open my eyes. I don’t know what’s going on, but I just want to not be here anymore.

Suddenly, I hear a noise that puzzles me for a moment, before it registers in my brain. Magic. Unicorn magic from the show.

I open my eyes, only to wince as the light blinds me. Struggling to keep them open, I see the silhouette of somepony standing before my cage, their horn glowing with a blue aura as they open the door.

“Come on, out,” they say, their voice sounding soft and gentle. “We’re the good guys. We’re taking you someplace safe. Constable, assist with getting the mares out. Sugar Belle’s looking pretty bad. And it looks like we’ve got the Cake twins in here too. Officer Miles, make sure word is sent back to the settlement via Banana Muffin. She can tell the Cakes we found their kids again and that they're on their way back.”

“Yes, Sergeant,” a male voice says, before I hear the sound of fast moving hooves. The voice sounds really familiar to me for some reason.

“Got it, ma’am,” another voice says.

I put it out of my mind, letting the unicorn who opened my cage move me onto her back and carry me out of the now not so dark space and out into the sunlight.

I blink several times, squinting as I look around. Not too far off I see a large billboard with the image of a river, with the words, “Welcome to Albury” in large white letters in the bottom left-hand corner.

Blinking, I look back down at the pony I’m riding. From what I can see she has a light-pink coat and her mane is purple with blue streaks tied back in a long ponytail that keeps tickling my nose.

She walks for a bit until she’s closer to the sign, then picks me up in her magic and levitates me down so that I’m facing her.

“Who are you?” I blink, still trying to get my eyes to fully adjust.

She salutes. “Sergeant Riley Johns of the New South Wales Police.” She smirks. “Though, I do tend to go by Starlight these days.”

I blink a few times and the mare comes into focus and I leap back in shock. It’s Starlight Glimmer! The unicorn who took away the Mane Six’s Cutie Marks!

Her eyes sadden a little and she gives a small smile. “Guessing you watched the show, huh?” she sighs and sits down. “Listen, I don’t remember everything, but I remember enough. Starlight... well, I wasn’t trying to be cruel. I just...” she grunts, rubbing the back of her neck. “To tell the truth, I don’t really know why, but I know I did that thing with the Cutie Marks because I really did believe everything about equality and Cutie Marks being bad. I know it doesn’t make up for what I did, but...”

“D-Dinky?” we both turn to see the other pony that had come into what I know see is a truck with a metal carrier. All around it are more cages like the one I was held in.

The pony in question has a grey coat, a purple mane and tail combed back, light-green eyes and a scroll Cutie Mark.

I blink myself, before I’m hit with a memory.

“Dad, come on! Mom and Sparkler are waiting for us!” I call out to the stallion at the bottom of the hill.

He laughs, though sounds a bit winded. “Where do you fillies get all that energy?” he says, catching up.

I laugh and hug him. “Secret! Now, come on! Mom made her blueberry muffins! You know I love those!”

With that I let go and hurry off, hearing a tired laugh from behind me.

I shake my head as the memory stops and look to the stallion with wide eyes. “D-D-D-Daddy?”

He nods slowly and I rush forward, grabbing onto him and hugging tightly, not ever wanting to let go. This feeling, I... I can’t explain it, but I’m so happy to see him. So happy to be held by him again. I just somehow know he’ll make every bad thing that’s happened go away.

“S-Script?”

We both turn to see Carrot Top. She’s got her right forehoof raised a little, as if it hurts to put pressure on it, but the look in her eyes is of a mixture of confusion, shock, joy and sadness.

“C-Carrot?” he stares at her, blinking.

“Aright, Millard,” Starlight Glimmer says, causing me to remember that she’s here. Glancing over, I see she's holding Sugar Belle up, the other unicorn giving her a sad, thankful look. “You can reacquaint yourself with your pony family once we’re back at Banana’s farm, got it?”

Dad blink for a few moments, before sighing and nods. “Yes, Sergeant Glimmer.”

___________________________________________________________

“After that we’ve all stayed together, here at the farm,” Carrot says, finishing the story she and Dinky had been taking turns in telling.

I look down to the filly snuggled under my wing, before looking back to Starlight with a frown not actually aimed at her. “They put Pound and Pumpkin in separate cages? Babies?”

She nods, her face grim. “The people higher up weren’t too pleased when I told them about how infants were being handled. Sugar Belle and other mare whom knew the Cakes back when they were human was taking the foals to the reserve to see the animals a few days ago. When they didn't come back, we sent out a search party. She didn't make it, I'm afraid.”

I look around at the assembled ponies and humans, before noticing the stallion who’d led us in is heading our way, followed by an Earth Pony the same yellow as Fluttershy, but with a Cutie Mark of a muffin.

They come over and she stops, smiling at me. “Derpy Hooves?”

I nod, tightening my wing against Dinky ever so slightly.

She nods. “I’m Banana Muffin. I own this farm and the land around it.”

I nod, before glancing at Dinky, then bow. “Thank you for taking care of my daughter.”

She shakes her head. “All ponies seeking safety are welcome. Which makes me ask, are you all planning on staying?”

I glance around at the other, who each nod.

I look to Kelly, Jenny and the kids, then back to Banana Muffin. “What about our human companions? One of them’s my girlfriend and the other woman’s her sister in the law. The children are my girlfriend’s niece and nephew.”

Banana looks to them, then back to me. “They can stay, but don’t expect everypony to be too kindly at first. Not all of us have had good experiences with humans since the change.”

I nod again, before looking to Starlight. “So, nopony has any problems with Starlight Glimmer being here?”

Banana just laughs. “You kidding? Sure, at first everypony was hesitant, ’specially when they learned she was in a place of authority, and since several of the ponies here are from that town she took the marks from but, in fact, it’s Starlight who’s been the best help.”

I look to the unicorn, who’s blushing slightly.

“Not to mention, she’s b’n teaching all our unicorns as much about magic as she can,” the stallion says.

I frown, turning to Starlight. “How can you teach something you shouldn’t even be able to remember how to use?”

She just smirks. “Let’s just say I pulled a fast one on Discord after what he did to Twilight Sparkle.”

*** Starlight Glimmer***

I dodge around a corner, trying to get away.

Damnit! He finished up faster than I’d expected. I’ve been studying Starswirl the Bearded's Time Travel Spell, trying to make it work better. At first I was planning on using it to get revenge on Twilight Sparkle for taking away my village, but after Discord turned on Equestria, my reasons became to go back in time and warn the princesses about his betrayal. However, I also was trying to learn what I can of this spell he uses to send ponies away.

Whilst I haven’t been able to uncover much, I do now know he doesn’t destroy them. He’s sending them away somewhere. Where exactly, I have absolutely no idea. But, I do know one other thing. When the ponies arrive wherever he’s sending them, they won’t be able to remember their lives as ponies properly.

I don’t know why he’s only sending us away and wiping our memories instead of wiping as out completely, but I’m not going to try understanding the way Discord thinks.

From what I’ve learned, I have managed to come up with a spell. It's only partially done though, so I’m not really sure how it will affect the spell he’s using if he casts it on me, but I need to be sure I won’t lose my memories. Somepony will need to remember what Discord’s done, that we need to stop him.

I may not be the best candidate for a leader, what with my track record, which I've learned speaking with the few survivors I've met on my travels to figure out the Time Spell, but I’m sure as Celestia not going to give up without a fight. If I can find Princess Twilight wherever he sent her, maybe I can figure out how to get her memories back too and then we can—

“Hello, Starlight Glimmer. Ready to join the others?”

I whirl around, my horn flaring, casting the spell just as a white mist surrounds me, causing me to scream in agony.

"Five score divided by four,
Your memories removed, your body confused!
For your insolence you must pay,
Cast off to a land far, far away!
I've scattered the six, and that's just the start of my tricks,
Your mind shall be weak, your outlook bleak!
Forgetting everything and living like a fool,
You have all lost, now no one can stop my rule!”

I feel myself fading. I'm going wherever he's sending everypony else. But I can't just go, not now that the Time Spell is finished. I can't let Discord get his hands on it.

With what little strength I have left, i cast a Magic Fire on the scroll, destryoying it completely, even Discord's magic won't be able to bring it back.

Sorry, Starswirl. In order to keep it out of enemy hands, the world must be deprived of one of your greatest works.

___________________________________________________________

“My spell for memories didn’t work nearly as well as I’d have hoped,” Starlight grumbles, kicking at the ground. “I’m nowhere near the princess’s level to make a perfect spell. I can’t really remember too much, in fact, I barely remember more than anypony else,” she snorts, before grinning. “But, once I started changing and figured out who I am, there’s one thing I did remember. Spells. Lots of them.”

“From what we can gather, Starlight’s spell interrupted Discord’s, not enough to let her keep her memories, but enough that she has a good portion the spells she used back in Equestria,” Carrot says, nodding as she leans against Script.

I frown, turning to Starlight. “Even the Unmarking Spell?”

She shudders, shaking her head. “Thank Celestia, no!” she says, looking to me. “I don’t remember all the spells I used back in Equestria and, thankfully, that’s one that didn’t make it with me.”

I nod, before a thought occurs to me. "Can you restore other ponies' memories of before. Sweetie Belle could do that because her curse was interrupted. Can you?"

Starlight's eyes widen, before her body and expression sag. "No. Sorry. I can't do anything like that. Believe me, if i could, I would have long ago."

I sigh. Well, it was worth a shot, anyway.

“And Miss Hooves?” Banana asks and I look to her. “Whilst we don’t have many, a lot of our pegasi haven’t really figured out how to fly. Would you and Miss Rays be willing to help teach them? We need all the help we can get with the humans that keep trying to get us off our land.”

I look to Honey, who nods, before I do the same. I look to Banana and smile. “We’ll help out however we can. Though, Starlight?”

“Hmm?” the unicorn looks to me.

“Of the spells you do remember, one wouldn’t happen to be a spell that lets you know if somepony’s pregnant, would it?”

She cocks an eyebrow. “Yeah...” she says slowly. “Why?”

Honey and I look at each other, before looking pointedly at Party, who wilts a little. “Well, Honey and I were in heat before Dash’s Rainboom. Would you check to see if there’s a muffin in my oven and honey in her pot.”

Carrot and the kids fall over with laughter as everyone else blushes and Script gives narrowed eyes to Party.

Author's Note

There we go. Everypony's all caught up. Now i get to work on the around a year that Derpy and the gang live in the Aussie ponies camp before Dust comes down.

Gonna have some fun with that.

Now, i know i cut Starlight's backstory real short and it might seem Deus Ex Machina that she has so many of her old spells at her disposal, but it's needed. You really think the Aussie ponies could keep their ground for almost a year against the government without some Ubber power at their disposal?

So, hope you enjoyed this and don't worry, i will talk a bit about Starlight and Written Scipt's changes, though they'll be telling, not showing, cos otherwise this story's gonna be too much backstory for everypony.

~~Now, since i'm not sure when i'll be posting this as i need my prereaders to get back to me, i don't have any idea what the time will be when i post this chapter as i write this now.~~

So, hope you enjoyed this chapter, look forward to more time with the Aussie ponies and, til next time, later everypony

Chapter 14

If you haven't read the previous two chapters, 12 is here

Chapter 14

___________________________________________________________

“Alright, everypony, pay attention,” I say, walking in front of the ponies standing in a line before me. “You all need training, so I’m going to be the one giving it to you.”

Yesterday, after Banana Muffin agreed that we could stay on the farm and asked if Honey and I would be willing to help train the pegasi, we’d gotten all our stuff out of the van and started settling in.

Thankfully, since we were given more supplies than really needed, we gave a lot of them to Banana to pass out among the other ponies here.

When we discussed about living quarters, we agreed it would be better for all of us to stay together, so we used some of what Velvet got us to make a tent large enough for us eight ponies and four humans. There’s even a little more room in case we went to add one more pony to our little group.

Starlight did the spell and, wouldn’t you know it, Honey and I were on the mark. We were both pregnant and since Party was the only stallion either of us had been with, it was clear he is the father.

She and I had a good laugh when he fainted at the confirmation that, yes, he is now going to be a father, and to two foals from different mares.

Dinky was ecstatic to learn she was going to have a little brother or sister... though it did then make her sad as well, as she told me Sparkler wasn’t among any of the ponies in the camp and it remained her of her big sister.

Due to that, as we set up, Dinky never left my side. Well, never left my back would be more accurate. With the fact Max was an orphan since he was a baby and him now being my biological daughter, I guess it’s causing some wires in her brain to cross and she just doesn’t want to be away from me. That and her sadness at being reminded of her big sister not being around.

Not that I’m complaining. About her staying close that is. I feel sad knowing my other daughter is not here. Dinky may not remember much about our past lives as mother and daughter, hell, even with all the memories I’ve be able to recover I’m still a bit in the dark on it myself, but I do in part and I can’t ignore how happy I am to have her close to me again after twenty-five years.

Another thing I could help noticing as we were setting up the larger than most others tent, Kelly was keeping her distance from me, for some reason a look of shame on her face.

It hurts me that she’s doing that. I know something’s bothering her and, even though she was blushing as much as everyone else when I asked Starlight to perform the Pregnancy Check Spell on Honey and I, I know it’s not the idea that her former boyfriend-now marefriend being pregnant with another stallion’s foal.

She’s been this way since back on Applejack and Big Mac’s farm. Actually, even a little before that, now that I think about it.

However, I didn’t get a chance to be alone and talk with her at all. One because Dinky wouldn’t leave me alone and I was torn between wanting her to give me some private time with Kelly, whilst at the same time not wanting to let my little filly out of my sight, and two, because we were all kept busy finishing setting up, helping pass out the extra supplies we’d brought, as well as Kelly and Jenny helping with getting dinner for everypony ready.

This morning I tried to find her to talk, but one of the guard ponies told me she’d taken the van into Dubbo to see about getting more supplies and when I asked Jenny about it, she told me it wasn’t anything I needed to worry about.

As such, despite my anxiety to talk with my girlfriend about something that is clearly worrying her, I had to put my feelings aside and went an open space near the camp where Banana had told me to go.

There I found all the pegasi from the camp. There’s only forty in total, not counting Honey and myself. And as for unicorns? Well, there’s even less of them, like half that, not counting my little Dinky. All the rest are Earth Ponies.

Anyway, as I walk passed the line of pegasi, I hear a snort. My ears swivel in the direction of the cough and I turn to see it came from a rather bulky brownish-orange coated stallion with brown bangs over his eyes.

I raise an eyebrow at him. “Something you want to say, Hoops?”

He blinks, well, twitches as if he blinked, it’s hard to see through all that mane, before his mouth turns into a frown. “Why are we having to learn from you? From what I’ve heard, you’re a complete klutz. Plus, there’s no way I’m learning how to fly from a girl.”

That's earns him a glare from the mares and even a few of the stallions.

My eyes narrow and I step forward until I’m right in front of him. Despite him having a height advantage, meaning I’m looking up at him, his posture tells me he’s suddenly nervous.

I snort. “In the show, yes. I am made out to be a bit of a klutz. And yes, I don’t have the best eye coordination for a Pegasus, but Honey and I can fly and I know how to do it? Can you?”

His posture slumps a little.

“That’s a “no”, then,” I say firmly, turning back and trotting to where I’d been earlier, then turning back around to look at the pegasi. I’ve only just know noticed that, save ten of them, they’re all stallions.

I can’t help wondering why there are so many pegasi stallions here and so few mares.

I take a deep breath, before looking at all the pegasi. “I am not going to sugar coat this, ponies. You are all pegasi and, from what Banana has told me, your flight skills are poor at best and pitiable at worst.”

“Hey!” I look to the stallion who spoke up. For a second I think it’s Doctor Whooves, but then notice the coat is much lighter in colour, plus the backwards facing crescent moon Cutie Mark.

Quickly sifting through my memories of background ponies, I remember his name. “Yes, Crescent Moon?”

He frowns, though it’s more of an annoyed frown compared to the one I’m assuming Hoops had been wearing when he’d spoken up, judging by the buffer stallion’s tone at the time.

“Listen, Miss Hooves. I don’t think it’s fair you talk to us like that. I mean, yes, we’re not all great fliers, but it’s not like we were born with wings.”

“Actually, you were,” I cut him off, stomping a hoof. “We were all born as ponies. Discord sent us all to this world twenty-five years ago as newborn humans. However, we were originally born ponies.”

“Well... okay, but... we’ve not had wings for those twenty-five years?” he tries to defend weakly.

I sigh, shaking my head. “Was there anything else, or can I get back to trying to train you all?”

He pouts, before shaking his head. “Well, yes, actually. Even if you’re not as clumsy as what some of us have heard about you from fans of the show say and you can actually fly, why are you the one training us? Wouldn’t it be better to have somepony else, like that other Pegasus mare who was with you when your group arrived, train us instead? Or even some of the ponies here. A few fans of the show have mentioned some of them were Wonderbolts.”

I roll my eyes, before looking around firmly at them all. “Okay. Yes, I’m Derpy Hooves. Yes, I’m not as skilled a flier as say Rainbow Dash or Lightning Dust. And, yes, some of you were and technically still are Wonderbolts. However, can any of you really remember much about your time as pegasi? Especially the Wonderbolts?”

They all remain silent, some even looking away.

I nod. “I thought not. However, before I changed back I was a bush pilot when I was human. I know about flight, both in how to fly a plane and how to fly as a Pegasus. On top of that, if any of you watched the show, then you know I was one of the pegasi sent to try and stop Tirek when he was taking everypony's magic. Not Dash, me. Now, if I really were as klutzy as all that, do you think they'd have sent me to try and hold of Tirek, even if I was backed up by a whole lot of other, far more experienced fliers?”

That actually causes several of the pegasi to look at me in surprise, though I’m not sure how I feel about that.

“And, as for Honey Rays,” I continue, “she cannot teach you because she is currently helping the scouting, as she is the only able body Pegasus right now that can, since I'm the one teaching all of you.”

“What was your name?” a rust-red mare with a grassy-green mane and tail and a white swirl for a Cutie Mark interrupts, stepping forward. “Human name,” she adds at my cocked eyebrow.

“Not that it really matters at the moment,” I shrug, though I'm slightly annoyed at yet another interruption, “my name was Ben Smills and—”

“Ben Smills?!” six of the pegasi, including the mare who’d asked call out, as if shocked.

“Um, yes?” I say, unsure what’s going on here.

Suddenly I’m at the bottom of a pony pile as all those who’d shouted my name in shock jump on me, talking all out once, making it impossible to understand what’s being said.

It takes me a few moments before I can calm them all down. “What’s going on?” I demand once I’m free.

The mare who’d asked my name grins. “It’s us, Ben. From the bass. We all were there when you left to join your girlfriend.”

My eyes widen as I look at the seven ponies around me with wide eyes. “Seriously? You guys turned into ponies too?”

They all nod, each stepping up to introduce themselves.

“I was James Zigger,” the mare who’d asked my name says, pointing to herself. She giggles. “Now I go by Cinnamon Roll.”

Another of the mares among the smaller group, a faded-purple coated mare with a purple mane styled to lift up at the front and a Cutie Mark of a sun and a white cloud and a grey cloud.

I blink, remembering her from Tanks for the Memories.

“Clear Skies, right here,” she says, then grins, shrugging. “Couldn't resist quoting myself. Was Bill Michaels, but, Clear Skies feels more me now.”

A blue stallion with a mane of blue and purplish-blue mane and tail and two feathers and a star for a Cutie Mark nods. “Thomas Reads, but I’m Open Skies now.”

A yellow stallion with a orange and cream coloured maned and tail, the former in bangs over his eyes, with a Cutie Mark of a cloud with rain grins. “James Johns. But ponies call me Rainy Day.”

A stallion who looks just like Noteworthy, only as a Pegasus and with green eyes and a rolling wave for a Cutie Mark grins. “Maxwell Hampton. But I’m used to Wave Chill these days.”

Another Pegasus mare winks at me. Her coat is like Soarin’s only a little more bluish, her mane and tail are rather fluffy a middle strip in her mane and tail a light yellow, whilst the rest is darker. Her Cutie Mark is a bright yellow sun. “Richard Wells, though I go by Sunny Skies since becoming a pony.”

A black mare with a black and yellow mane and tail and a Cutie Mark of a dark cloud with a lightning bolt coming out waves meekly. “Samuel Smith. But everypony calls me Midnight Strike.”

A purplish-pink stallion with a dark-grey mane and tail and a rainbow for a Cutie Mark grumbles but manages a small smile. “Hank Riland. But now I’m called...” he grumbles again, “Rainbow Swoop.”

The last one, a stallion with a blueish-grey coat and blonde mane and tail with a stark with a contrail Cutie Mark nods. “Was Greg Kiles, but ever since I became a pony and came here I’ve been going by Stormfeather.”

I suddenly remember myself and clear my throat. “Okay. It’s great to see you guys and I’m not sure whether to cheer or apologize for the fact you all became ponies too, and I really wanna catch up and learn what’s been going on with you all since I left and how you all got here, but we need to get back to the flying lessons.”

They all blush, nodding and move back in line.

I clear my throat again and look out at the assembled pegasi. “Right. Now, since I was a bush pilot as a human, which several of you know, since you knew me back then, I know enough about flying that it wasn’t too hard to figure out how to fly as a Pegasus.” I glance at my fellow bush pilots. “Though how you guys haven’t figured it out confuses me.”

They all blush deeper and give sheepish smiles to this, to which I smirk before returning to what I was saying.

“Now, flying isn’t just about flapping your wings to get lift. We’re not like the pegasi of Earth's myth and legend, nor are with like birds or other winged creatures, be they from Earth or Equestria. We’re Pegasus ponies and that means we have Pegasus Magic. This is how we’re able to fly even though our wings wouldn’t suggest being big enough to lift us.”

I look out to them all. “I’m going to be helping you to connect with that magic and learn to fly, not just because you can, but because you’re meant to. There are very few pegasi born who are not meant to fly. But, I’m also teaching you because, until the Australian government accepts the fact that we are Australians and have a right to live here, we’ll need to be on watch in case the government tries anything sneaky to get us to leave.

“That’s where we pegasi come in. For now, the Earth Ponies are doing their best to keep an eye out for any not friendlies. However, we pegasi can get a much better view from the air, plus our eyesight is better than any of the ponies races aside from the Thestrals and the princesses themselves, so we are a major asset for keeping an eye out around the camp.

“So, is everypony ready to learn how to fly?”

“Yeah!” my fellow bush pilots cheers.

The other pegasi murmur.

I frown, stomping a hoof. “I said, , is everypony ready to learn how to fly?!”

“Ye-yes!” the remaining ones stammer, taken aback by my firmness.

I nod. “Good. Now, first you’re all going to try getting in touch with your inner Pegasus Magic. After that, we’ll see just how well you can lift yourselves off the ground. I’m not expecting you to do a rainboom on your first try. Let’s just see what you’ve got.”

A dark brown stallion with a blonde mane and tail and a backwards dollar sign for a Cutie Mark I recognize as Big Shot, one of the Paparazzi ponies from throughout the show snorts. “And what if we don’t want to do so?”

He actually has the nerve to smirk. I just scowl. “Anypony who refuses to follow the lesson plan, one Banana Muffin herself had me sit down and figure out last night and agreed you all need to follow, will be doing twenty wing-ups.”

“What?!” his eyes, as well as several other pegasi, including Hoops’, go wide.

I nod, snorting. “Don’t think that just because I’m Derpy it means I’m a pushover. I was trained as a pilot. Now, twenty wing-ups, Big Shot.”

“Hey, wait a minute—” he begins.

“Twenty wing-ups,” I repeated firmly. “Now!” I glare at him until he gets down and, though struggles immensely, starts to slowly do the wing-ups. “Anyone else want to join Big Shot?” I ask, looking around.

Everypony shakes their heads.

I nod. “Good. Now, let’s get to work on you all finding your link to your magic.”

___________________________________________________________

“Not the best of starts, huh?” Honey asks as I join her and the others at the bench we’re eating dinner at.

Banana’s got a lot of this organized well. Behind the barn is a large space which has been filled with wooden tables and benches for ponies (and in the case of our group) and people to sit at.

Dinner isn’t anything too special. It’s mostly just a pasta meal with a vegetarian sauce. There is bacon and chicken for the pegasi, ours being a separate sauce from everypony else’s, since only Pegasus ponies can eat things like bacon and chicken.

I shake my head as Dinky hops up next to me and presses herself against my side. I smile down at her and fold a wing over her, which just makes her snuggle more.

Looking back to Honey, I shake my head again. “I guess for first timers, it’s pretty good. The ponies who were Wonderbolts, few as they are among our pegasi, got it pretty quick, a fair few took a really long time just to find their Pegasus Magic.” I give a small smirk. “That includes Hoops.”

Honey smirks back. “Isn’t that one of the ponies who bullied Dash in Sonic Rainboom.”

I nod, then let my face soften. “Though, petty feelings for how he treated Dash and Shy in the show aside, he was one of the ponies that struggled the most. Oddly enough, if was the stallions who had the most trouble connecting.”

That just makes Honey’s smirk deepen. “Guess mares are just better at being in touch with themselves than stallions.”

We both have a giggle at that, even Dinky finds it funny. I briefly have to remind myself that, though she’s just a filly, she is over twenty-five years old and was my best friend back when I was human, so she’d understand that joke easy.

I sigh. “I did enjoy talking with the other ponies who were bush pilots with me, though. It was interesting, hearing their tales of how they changed. Basically all started at once and, when they noticed how other ponies were being treated, took a flight out and accidentally crashed several hundred miles from here.” I chuckle. “When they stumbled onto the camp, they were more than glad.”

Our conversation about my trainee's is cut short, however, when I notice Kelly with a plate of pasta. But, instead of coming over, she walks off towards the barn, going through one of the doors.

Frowning, I lift my wing from around Dinky, who looks up at me with confusion.

“Dinky, stay with Honey, I’ll be back in a bit. I need to go speak with Kelly about something important.” I turn to Honey. “You don’t mind watching her for a few minutes, do you?”

She shakes her head. “You need to sort whatever’s wrong with Kelly out soon. I’ll keep an eye of the little rugrat.”

“Hey!” Dinky pouts, folding her forelegs.

Giggle a little, I nuzzle her, then head off towards the barn, taking my plate with me. We’ll probably eat and talk, so it’s wise to take it with me instead of us ending up sharing hers and her getting less because of my carelessness.

When I get to the barn, I peek into the window and see Kelly sitting at the kitchen table, pushing a fork in and out of her food.

Carefully, I use my mouth to slowly open the door (thankfully I don't end up tasting anything unpleasant, guess Banana took that into account) and walk in. I make no noise as I trot up to Kelly, set my plate on the table, then sit in the seat next to her.

We sit in silence for a few moments, before I sigh and look to her. “Kelly, what’s wrong? Something’s been bothering you for a long while now. I don’t know what it is, but I know you’ve spoken to Jenny about it.”

She winces, but doesn’t meet my eyes. “You’re... you’re already having a foal with Party, not to mention you’ve already got Dinky so... so I...”

I frown, more in confusion than annoyance at the deterrent answer, but annoyed none the less. “Honey, what do you mean already? What’s all this cryptic talk...?”

I trail off, noticing something I hadn’t before. There are alfalfa cubes set next to her meal, which also happens to be the one that the pegasi can have because it has chicken and bacon.

I look to her with a quirked eyebrow. “Kelly, why do you have alfalfa?”

She makes a noise that almost sounds like an “eep”, but maybe I imagined it. She picks up a few of the cubes with her fingers and crushes them, before mixing it into the food. “I’ve... been having a craving for it,” she says in a barely audible whisper. In fact, without my ponies ears, I know I wouldn’t have heard it.

However, upon hearing it, I’m struck with simple confusion. “A craving? Kelly, humans aren’t meant to eat alfalfa. That can't digest it! That’s for... well, not humans.” I almost slipped and said it’s for animals. Not sure calling myself, and by proxy, the rest of my pony kind animals would be a good thing.

She sniffles, starting to shake. “Would... if you’d never become a pony... would you have, maybe wanted... wanted to someday... have... kids...?”

I blink, before giving a warm smile. “Kels,” I say, using the nickname I do when I need to calm her down, “I’m already a mother. Even if Party hadn’t left me a favour, I’d still be a mother. Dinky’s my daughter. I can’t ignore that.”

This does not get me the reaction I expected. Kelly bursts into tears and starts sobbing, leaning forward onto the table and burying her head in her arms.

At once I lean forward, putting my forelegs on her. “Kelly?! Kelly, what’s wrong? Please, Kelly, tell me! What’s wrong? Is something happening? Kelly, please tell me?!”

“I’m pregnant!”

There’s silence in the room after that declaration, well, aside from her sobbing.

After a few moments, I lean down further and nuzzle her cheek. “Are you sure?”

She nods, sniffling. “It started shortly after your change began. I didn’t understand the alfalfa craving until we actually had some and I could eat it.”

“I thought I saw you eating it at times,” I murmur, now understanding I wasn’t just seeing things. Then I look to her with confusion. “Kelly, why did you try and hide this? Why does it make you sad that we’re having a baby?”

“Because you’re a pony now,” she sobs, looking to me. “You won’t want to stay with me and care for my human baby, not when you’ve got a foal on the way and a filly to already look after.”

She puts her head back in her arms and resumes sobbing.

I sit for several moments, processing what she’s said, before a shake my head, pain on my face, as well as my heart.

I maneuver myself until I’m in a good enough position and then hug her and tightly as I can. “Why would you ever think I’d not want to stay with you now that I know you’re having my baby? Kelly, I already told you back when we were leaving Applejack and Big Mac’s farm to say goodbye to those heading through the portal: I don’t care if I’m a pony and you’re a human. I love you and that will never change.

I squirm a bit so I’m looking into her eyes. “And now you tell me we’re having a baby? Why would I leave you for that? Kelly, you’re a part of my life, my... my herd, I guess. If you’re having my baby, it means Dinky isn’t just getting one little brother or sister. She’s getting two. Why would I not want to help you raise it for something wonderful like that?”

She looks down at me, tears trailing down her bloodshot eyes. “You... you mean it?”

I nod, giving her a soft, yet firm expression. “I know I messed up with having sex with Party during heat and now I’m pregnant with his foal, which I guess means he’d be part of the family. And I know I was in a herd-realationship with Carrot and Script back in Equestria and I honestly think it should remain that way, for Dinky’s sake, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be together.”

She sniffles, before giving a small smile. “So, you want me to join the herd? Even now you’re still pushing me to join the fandom?”

I blink, temporarily confused, before I realize her words and find myself laughing, her joining in, albeit weakly.

“I... oh, I walked right into that one,” I snicker, trying to get control of myself.

She winks. “Don’t you mean trotted?”

We both have a good laugh, before settling down and just holding each other.

We remain that way for several minutes, before something she said earlier catches my attention and I frown, looking up at her, confused. “Wait. You’ve been craving a food we ponies eat since getting pregnant?”

She opens her eyes and nods.

I cock my head. "But, Sky, you're not a pony. You can't eat pony food and have it sit well with you. Why would the baby crave pony food?"

She looks at me in confusion. "Sky?"

I blink. "Huh?"

She frowns. "You called me Sky. Why?"

I roll my eyes, grinning. "Please tell me you weren't a zebra who was cursed. I don't know if I can handle a girlfriend who speaks in rhyme."

It's her turn to blink, before we both burst out laughing.

However, our jovial uproar is interrupted by the door suddenly opening and a purplish-grey blur flying through the door, leaping up at me and clinging to me.

“Sorry... Derpy... Sky...” comes an exhausted voice from the door. Looking over, Kelly and I see Honey looking rather worn out. “She... she slipped away and... and I had to chase her and...”

From outside, I can hear the faint sound of humorous laughter dying down and find myself having to stop myself from snorting with laughter as I think about how that must have been a fun bit of entertainment the two provided.

Instead, I just bring Dinky closer, so that she’s nestled between Kelly and I and we remain that way for a few minutes.

Once we’ve had enough hugging, and our stomachs decide to remind us that we have yet to eat, two of us needing to eat for two respectively, we all head back outside and move towards our table.

Everypony is watching Dinky and smiling, several wave and say hello or compliment her on the show.

She, of course, calls hello and thank yous back as she skips between my legs.

We get to our table, sit down and start eating.

When dinner’s over, we help like everypony else with the cleaning wherever we can and, when done, head for our tent.

We’re going to get Starlight cast the Pregnacy Test Spell on Kelly. She’s told me she’s already pregnant, but that spell is designed strictly for ponies. If Kelly is craving a food we ponies would eat but normally humans do not, it could mean something happened to the baby during insemination.

What, I have no bloody clue. However, since Starlight is the most magical of the unicorns here, and very magical in general maybe she can figure out just what is going on?

Why would the baby crave pony food? It doesn’t make sense. Why would a human baby want to eat pony food?

We won’t be finding out tonight though, as, when we reached the tent, it’s to find Starlight already passed out, fast asleep, nestled between Sugar Belle and Script.

“She had a busy day,” Party says, walking in and nodding to Starlight. “Along with being the resident magic teacher here, she also still has her police duties in town.”

I sigh, looking to Kelly. “We’ll have to wait til tomorrow to find out what’s going on with the baby and hopefully figure this out.”

Kelly nods, then, with Dinky following, moves over to an empty spot, Dinky curling up next to her as Kelly lays down.

Party looks to me with worry. “What’s wrong with the foal?”

Honey just smirks. “Oh, it’s not yours and Derpy’s kid she’s talking about.”

He blinks, confused. “Then... who? Derpy can’t get pregnant again when she’s still pregnant.”

I nod to Kelly.

He looks to her as she moves a hand to gently stoke Dinky’s mane, which makes the little unicorn coo softly, then looks back to me. “Huh?”

Honey rolls her eyes. “Derpy was Sky’s boyfriend before the change. Do the math, Einstein.”

He frowns, turning to Honey. "Who the heck is Sky?"

Honey blinks, confused. "Huh?"

Party shakes his head. "You said Derpy was someone named Sky's boyfriend before she changed."

Honey glares. "I did not. I said Derpy was her," she points to Kelly, "boyfriend before the change."

"Then why did you call her...?" I blink, then turn to Kelly, realizing something. She said I'd called her Sky and now apparently Honey had too? "Kelly, lower your jeans so we can see your hip!"

She blinks, frowning. "Huh?"

I shake my head. "Just do it! I think something's going on here!"

Looking confused, Kelly gets up and lowers her jeans down a bit.

We all gasp, which causes her to look down and gasp too. On her thigh is a kite with purple outer-lining. The inside is turquoise, however within that is a purple triangle with a small love heart at the top. The kite ends with a tail that has a ribbon tied in a bow and the tail itself curling at the end.

We all just stare, wide-eyed at Kelly's Cutie Mark.

"You're..." I say, my eyes looking from Kelly to the mark.

She has a look of pure joy in her eyes as she barrels into me, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Yeah!" Dinky cheers, squeezing between us, nuzzling each of our cheeks in tandum. "Mommy's girlfriend's gonna be a pony too!"

"But, when? How?" Honey looks to the other ponies, who all shake their heads.

After several minutes, Party blinks, before frowning. "Wait. What was this about a baby and Derpy being Kelly's boyfriend before the change again?"

I just giggle and rub my belly, then nod to Kelly and place my hoof against her stomach.

Her looks back and forth again a few times, before his eyes go wide. “No way.”

I nod, then do probably the worst Big Mac impression a mare with a New York accent with a bit of an Aussie accent can. “Eeyep.”

He looks back and forth several times, his eyes wide. “But how?”

I shake my head. “That’s what we’re going to try and find out tomorrow, when Starlight casts the testing spell on her.”

His confusion is fused with a frown. “But, isn’t that spell just for ponies?”

I frown. "Yeah, and we've just found out Kelly's turning into a pony, so it will work on her. Though, since she became pregnant, Kelly has been craving alfalfa. Yes, I know, it doesn’t make sense when she wasn't changing... though i guess that means we need to figure out why her mark appeared now,” I can see the question in his eyes, “and that’s why I’m going to ask Starlight to cast the spell. And maybe an age testing spell too or something. I’ve a very small hunch, but, maybe some of my magic from my change went in when I could still get her pregnant and it’s messing with the baby somehow.”

Moving further into the tent, I settle down, putting Dinky between myself and Kelly. At once Dinky snuggles up to me and Kelly and I share a small laugh.

Honey comes and lays down next to me on my other side and I extend a wing over her, pulling her close.

With that done, we all settle down and Jenny turns out the lamp. She and the kids sleep a little apart from us, but I can understand, I guess.

Lights out, we all close our eyes and soon I fall asleep, surrounded by those I know I can trust, to dream about playing with my two children when they’re born.

Author's Note

And there's the big reveal about Kelly.

Surprised no one saw it coming. I did mention some odd combo foods she was having with the alfalfa, i thought that was a good hint, but all anyone focused on was JUST her change?

*shrugs*

Well, anyway, next chapter will be set a little ahead, to when Derpy has gotten several of the pegasi trained and when she gets her first real experience with the Australian government and their views on ponies.

Also, what Derpy says about her going against Tirek. Yeah, think about that. Dash wasn't sent, but Derpy was. Think about that from the ponies point of view and not plot view.

Been a LONG while since i posted a NEW chapter of this. the last two were posted before, but i unpublished them to fix some problems with them, but that leaves them on their dates.

Well, here's the next chapter. can't say when i will update this again, but at least we've gotten to this part now, so you can be thankful for that.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and, til next time, later everypony

Chapter 1

Five Score Divided by Four

A Mother and Daughter’s Paths

Chapter 1

___________________________________________________________

“Almost there!” I grin as the bass comes within range. “Just a little longer and I’ll be able to relax.”

On my name badge it says Ben Smills. I’m a bush pilot, and a damned good one at that, thank you.

You know, it’s not easy getting this kind of job, especially when you’ve got a brain injury that you’ve had since you were seven and pretty much have no eyesight in your right eye due to an operation to help with said brain injury.

But I got here. I worked hard and passed by tests and got my pilot’s license. Then there’s also the fact that I’ve got the best girlfriend in the whole bloody world. Gorgeous, sweet, smart and quick. We moved to Australia about four years ago so I could get my job. She was able to get one here too. It’s a nice country. I'd originally been born here, but my parents have moved to the US when I was still an infant, so I'd grown up in the US, but was still technically an Aussie by birth.

And soon, I’ll be spending the next three weeks with her. No work, no distractions. Just me and her, boyfriend and girlfriend spending our time with each other, in the place we'd both been raised, the good ol’ US.

A few minutes later I land my plane into the hanger, the workmen closing the hanger doors behind as the hatch opens and I take off my helmet.

“So, how’d it go?”

I look down to see several of my fellow pilots grinning from the other side of the hanger.

I grin back, unstrapping and hopping out of the plan and walk towards them. “Delivery done in record time. Though those town’s folk were just happy I came. The kids were sweet, some even gave me some drawings.”

I pull out one crudely drawn picture of a plane flying over a town with smiling faces hovering above the buildings.

One of the guys grins, giving me a thumbs up. “Enjoy your time off, Ben. The boss’ll give you double your usual shifts the moment you get back, knowing him.”

I sigh, both in the knowledge that he was probably right about the boss, but in exasperation about part of how I’d be spending my time off.

“Well, it’s not gonna be relaxing at first,” I say as we all head into the changing room and we all start getting out of uniform. “Remember Damian?”

“Your girlfriend’s brother?” one guy asks, pulling a shirt over his head.

I nodded, sighing as I unzip my one-piece uniform. “Eeyep. Same one. He got in trouble with the police again. Says it was a misunderstanding and the police have confirmed it, but Kelly needs to hang with him for a few days or they’ll keep him in jail for a month.”

One guy whistles. “I feel sorry for Damian. I met your girlfriend, man. Not someone you wanna piss off.”

I chuckle as I button my jeans. “Don’t I know it. I’ll be surprised if there’s anything left of him once she’s done with him. And don’t get me started on his wife.”

Another barks a laugh. “Jeez. If she’s anything like my wife, she’ll be bitching at him about how he’s setting a bad example for the kids for weeks after.”

I nod, slinging my bag over my shoulder and closing my locker. “Still, since we’ll be in the US, we’ll go set sighting once this all blows over. Catch you guys when I get back,” I call, giving a half salute as I walk out, their calls of goodbye and good luck following me.

I catch a cab and get to the airport an hour before my flight. Flights from Australia to the US usually took a day with the airline I was booked with, so I’d get there the day before my birthday, May 2nd. To be more precise, a few hours before my birthday.

Once on the flight I lean back, ready to rest, though feeling a little uneasy. It might sound like an insult to my fellow pilots, but I feel a lot better when I’m the one flying the plane than being in one flown by someone else.

As I close my eyes to try and get some sleep (sleep always makes a flight go faster when I’m not the pilot), I hear a giggle.

Opening one eye, my good eye, I glance to the row of seat right across me. A little girl is playing with some another girl sitting next to her. Both are holding plush toys of what look like horses, with big eyes, only one’s a bright cyan with a rainbow mane and tail. There’s a marking on its flank that looks like a rainbow lightning bolt coming out of a cloud. The wings on its back indicate some kind of Pegasus, though I’d never heard of a Pegasus with that colour scheme before.

The other girl, the one whose giggle caught my attention in the first place, is holding one that’s grey, with a blonde-looking mane and tail. It also had wings, however, unlike the cyan toy, this one has a group of six bubbles on its flank. Not only that, unlike the other one, the grey toy’s eyes don’t match, by which I mean one is facing a direction different from the other.

I’m about to chuckle at how that toy’s eyes are like mine, when I stop. For some reason, both toy’s remind me of those I know, yet I can’t think of who.

I frown, closing my eyes and trying to think, where had I seen a cyan and grey Pegasus before?

Now, normally that would’ve sounded like more stupid question I could’ve asked myself in my life, but it actually caused a tiny pit of worry inside of me that I couldn’t explain.

The more I tried to remember where I knew a grey and cyan Pegasus from, the more it felt like something inside of me was telling me not to think about it, as if I shouldn’t know.

___________________________________________________________

“Mommy, what’s happening?” my daughter cries as I hold her close.

I stare up at the sky, my face pale.

Discord’s here, in Canterlot. That meant the Wonderbolts had failed. Dash was gone.

A small piece of me dies inside. Dash had been one of the only ponies to make me not feel useless. She inspired me to keep trying, to not give up just because others were putting me down.

And I wasn’t giving up now.

My brow frowned in determination, I lifted Dinky up onto my back.

“Mommy?” I hear her voice quivering as much as her body as she wraps her forelegs around my neck.

“I need to get you out of here,” I say, flapping my wings and taking off.

“But what about Sparkler?!” Dinky asks in a panic.

I was less worried about my oldest daughter than her right now. Sparkler was in Ponvyille. Discord wouldn’t have gone there first, not after stopping the Wonderbolts. He’d have gone after Rainbow’s friends, the other Bearers, including Princess Twilight. I just know it.

No. Sparkler would be safe, at least for a while. Discord would be focusing on Canterlot first. It being the heart of the kingdom and the Bearers out of the way, he’d deal with this place first. Ponyville would probably come second.

If Sparkler was still there, by the time he got there, she’d have been smart enough to get out and go into hiding. I had to trust that she was safe, because she wasn’t the one of my children in danger right now. Dinky was.

“Derpy!”

I whirl around at the calling of my voice and look down to see a unicorn is waving up to us. It’s Moon Dancer.

I dive, stopping in front of her and hovering a few inches off the ground. I may have a bad right eye, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a good flier. “What is it?”

Moon Dancer looks paler than usual, and considering her coat is white, that’s not an easy thing for her to do.

She points up and I follow her hoof, before my blood runs cold again. Several pegasi and griffons are flying at Discord, trying to stop him.

He just cackles and knocks some away with his tail, before blasting others with some kind of white light and starts chanting something we can’t make out from here. The three of us stare in horror as those that were hit with his magic turns to white mist right before our eyes.

I feel my lunch trying to come back up. He... had just turned them to mist. He killed them all, just like that. Did... is that what he did to Dash and the other Bearers? To the princesses?

A pit of rage suddenly burns inside me. He took our princesses from us, even one of my best friends since I was little. I want to make him pay. Make him suffer for taking somepony so close to me.

Before I can do more than think it, however, he turns his eyes towards our direction and I freeze.

He’s grinning at me... but his eyes are also looking a little away from me. He mouths two words, sneering. “Dinky Doo.”

All previous thoughts are forgotten as I bolt down the street, Moon Dancer right on my hooves.

Flying’s not an option. That will just make us easier targets. I can’t let him get Dinky, even if it cost me my life, I won’t let him get her. Maybe we can get away and hide. Then, when he leaves for somewhere else we can—

My thoughts and hoofsteps are halt by a scream from behind us. I stop, whirling around, only for me to see Moon Dancer disappearing right before my eyes.

She’s fading into the same white mist I saw Discord throwing at the other ponies and griffins who’d tried to fight him.

At the sound of murmuring, I look up and see a blast of the white magic coming towards me.

Time seems to freeze as I see that blast. It’s too close for me to run away. It’s going to get me and I’m going to fade away, just like Moon Dancer and everypony else.

A stiffening form on my back reminds me that I’m not the only one it’s going to hit.

I need to save Dinky, buy her even a few seconds to get away. It’s all I can do for her now.

I look back at her for a moment, giving a sad smile, then buck, hard, sending her flying away from me, just as the white light hits me.

I feel myself disappearing, my body just turning into nothingness.

“Mommy!”

I turn, seeing Dinky. She landed a few hooves distance from me. Tears are streaming down her face.

Suddenly I can’t see her anymore, my eyes having disappeared with the top of my head. I give her a sad smile. “Run, Dinky!” I shout-sobs. “Run and don’t look back! Mommy loves you!”

“No! Mommy—”

“Dinky, go!” I wail as I feel more and more of my body just disappear. “I don’t want him to get you, too! Find Sparkler! Stay together! Please, for Mommy!”

I hear whimpering, before the sound of her hooves running against the pavements tell me she’s doing as I asked.

I feel better as the rest of me disappears, knowing I might have at least given my youngest child a chance to escape. As I fall into the nothingness around me, I hear Discord’s voice.

It's the last thing I hear before my consciousness fades

___________________________________________________________

I jerk awake, the feeling of a downward motion making me realize the plane’s landing.

I grunt, sitting up and shaking my head. “What kind of dream was that?”

I can’t shake the chills down my back as I think about the dream. It hadn’t felt like a dream at all. I’d really felt like I was disappearing.

I shiver again. The feeling of your limbs just suddenly not being there anymore made my stomach turn.

“Attention passengers, we have arrived in Detroit,” the captain’s voice says over the speakers, snapping me from my thoughts. “The current time is 11:34PM, May 2nd. Please wait until the plane has come to a complete stop before getting out of your seats. Thank you for using Virgin Airways and we hope to see you again.”

A few minutes later I’ve gotten off the plane and out of customs. Waiting for me is Kelly’s sister-in-law, Jenifer, better known as Jenny. She wearing a blue suit that those of her profession are known for.

“Hope I haven’t disrupted any schedule?” I ask as I reach her and give her a hug.

She shakes her head, her long, shoulder-length brown hair bobbing as she did so. “My next case doesn’t start til tomorrow.” Then, in a quieter, angrier voice, “He’d better straighten up or I won’t take his case the next time.”

I chose to not reply. Having a lawyer for his wife would only help Damian out from the law. At home was another issue all together. One I was going to be wise enough to avoid like the plague if I valued my life, which I do.

I follow Jenny out of the airport and she drives me to her house. It’s a nice place, a little out of the way of Detroit. I can understand why she wouldn’t want to live directly in that city. It’s fun to visit, not to live there. On the outskirts is fair better.

Hers and Damian’s house is your average house. Reasonable size, five bedrooms. The house is a yellowish grey. There’s a small garden out front with flowers you don’t see in Australia, so it was refreshing.

I get out the car and follow her inside... only to wince at the volume Kelly is shouting at.

She’s upstairs, but her voice is carrying down, through a closed door mind you, as if she were right in the room.

Jenny sighs and shows me to the shared guest bedroom where Kelly and I would be staying. We planned on heading to Ohio once Kelly was allowed to get away from her brother. Still didn’t understand why the courts were making her stay with him for a little, but I’d stopped questioning things involving Damian a while ago. It was less painful on my brain that way.

Our room was pretty normal. A double bed, bedside table either side, a closet. Wasn’t like we’d been expecting five-star service or anything.

Once I’d unpacked what little I’d brought (Kelly had brought the rest) I head downstairs and, after quickly checking with Jenny, use the computer the browse ideas for the part of our time off that will be just that and not Kelly giving her brother hell for being an idiot.

I grin as I click a link to information about Detroit’s 8 mile. There was no way I was going to be here in Detroit and not, at least once, visit American Jewellery and Loan, the pawn shop from Hardcore Pawn, run by the Gold family.

I hear a slam and knew Kelly had gone into the guest room. Since I was done with my searching, I closed the computer down and went upstairs.

Kelly was lying on the bed, her back to me. Her ear-length blonde hair looks a bit ragged. “Damian, I’d advise you—” she began, her voice aggressive.

“Well, that’s a nice way to welcome your boyfriend.” I smirk as she sits up, whirling around.

Upon seeing it really was me, she gets an apologetic look on her face and looks down, sighing. “Sorry. Damian’s just...”

I shake my head, walking over and sit down on the bed with her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “I heard when I came in.” Then I grinned, narrowing my eyes. “I think know how to make you forget all about that.”

She turns to me, her expression asking what I meant, before she gasped as I kissed her, hard. She’s shocked for a few moments, before she returns the kiss just as hard, her tongue pushing into my mouth.

After several moments we pull away, panting.

“We won’t wake your niece and nephew, will we?” I ask, realizing in hindsight that they would hear us.

She gives a predatory grin. “They’re staying over at a friend’s house. Til tomorrow afternoon, it’s just you, me, Jenny and Damian in the house.”

I return the grin, pushing her down onto the bed and hovering over her. “Then let’s have fun as much as possible.”

She nods, pulling me down and we start kissing harder.

___________________________________________________________

I shift as I wake. I blink, for a moment wondering why I’m naked in bed, before I hear a small sigh and turn my head to my left to see Kelly, sound asleep, her back to me.

Now I remember.

I smirk and lean forward, wrapping my arms around her.

She coos, slowly opening her eyes and glancing back.

“Good morning.”

She gives that cute smile of hers. “Morning.”

We stay that way for a little, me holding her, her just enjoying being held.

“Pretty wild last night,” I said, blowing at a bit of her hair.

We’d gone at it till well after midnight. We hadn’t had sex in over a month because we’d been too tired most nights thanks to our jobs.

She giggles. “What about you? If I’d known you were gonna be that rough, I’d have told Jenny to soundproof the room.” Then, for some reason, she frowns. “But that was a weird bit of role play.”

I blink, confused. “Role play?” I didn’t remember us doing any role play.

She pulls a little out of my grip, sitting up, now wearing a frown of confusion. “Yeah. For some reason you started talking about muffins. I thought it was some weird bakery idea and just ran with it.”

I pull back completely and sit up, cocking my head to the side. “Okay, not only do I agree that sounds weird, I don’t remember that happening.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Really?”

I nod.

She frowns. “Weird. And you don’t know why you’d start shouting “Blueberry muffins are my favorite” halfway through?”

I winced. One of the things I both loved and hated about Kelly was how blunt she could be when saying things, sometimes. Then what she said kicks in and I wince again.

“I... really said that?” I asked, really hoping she’s just joshing me.

She nods, then looks at me with concern. “You really don’t remember saying it, or anything bakery or mail related?”

My wince turns into absolute confusion. “Wait. I talked about mail, too?”

She nods, frowning. “I thought you’d changed it to some kind of role play where I was a letter box and you were the postman.”

I cringe. “Well, while I’m glad that one sounds a little more realistic, why don’t I remember it?”

She shakes her head.

I sigh, scratching my neck. Well, I had just gotten off a flight from Australia to Detroit. Maybe I should blame that weirdness, and the fact that I couldn’t remember it, on that.

I push the cover up and start moving to get off the bed, when a confused “Huh?” from Kelly, stops me.

I glance at her. “What?”

She points to my thighs, an annoyed expression covering her features. “I thought you said you’d never get a tattoo.”

I frown. I’ve been terrified of needles since I was little. What was she going on about?

I glance down, before my eyes widen in shock and confusion. On my thighs, as clear as day are a group of six bubbles.

Okay. I am never eating airplane food again.

Author's Note

So, here's the beginning of my own Five Score.

Now, in case you're wondering, no, i won't just be focusing on Derpy. This is also about Dinky and, once i've stepped you through Derpy's origins leading up to her leaving the barn, then i'll start with Dinky.

Please leave feedback below, hope you like this and, til next time, later everypony

Chapter 5

___________________________________________________________

“We won, Mommy! We won!” Dinky cheers as she bounces into the house wearing a blue first place ribbon, Sparkler following behind, a smile on her face.

“That’s wonderful, muffin,” I say, taking her in my forehooves and holding her close.

She giggles, nuzzling against my fur.

I look up at Sparkler as she closes the door. “Sorry I couldn’t be there. Coming back from that delivery to Baltimare took far longer than I thought.”

Sparkler just smiles. “Mom, we understand.” She then frowns, as if having only just noticed something. “Mom? What’s with your wing?”

I wince. I’d honestly hoped she wouldn’t notice.

I look away, not meeting her eyes. “Well... some of the Baltimare weather ponies thought it’d be funny to make a really strong wind. I didn’t expect it, so it blew me off course and...” my voice trailed off.

“Mom,” Sparkler says, her tone firm. “What. Happened?”

I extend my right wing, revealing the missing feathers from it. “I fell near a pony who was using a chainsaw. He didn’t get my whole wing... but a few of my feathers got damaged and I had to remove them, so I couldn’t fly back and had to take the train. I preened them out while riding. I probably won’t be flying until they grow back.”

Her frown deepens. “Mom, you’ve flown with less damage before. Tell me the truth.”

By now Dinky’s noticed our moods as is looking at me with worry. “Mommy?”

I sigh, looking back at Sparkler, revealing my tired eyes.

“Damn it!” Sparkler slams her hoof against the floor.

“Language, young filly,” I scold, moving my wings over Dinky’s ears. “Your little sister’s here.”

“I don’t care!” Sparkler paces back and forth, fuming. “Mom, you work so hard that you’re almost always exhausted. Everypony keeps making fun of you, saying you’re such a klutz, but that’s only because you keep pushing yourself so hard you struggle to fly and stay conscious at the same time!”

I look firmly at her, but still smile. “I have to, honey. If I don’t, I can’t provide for you both. If it costs me everything, I’ll make sure you two are happy—”

“Even if that cost is your life?!” Sparkler glares at me, then stomps a hoof again. “Because, at this rate, that’s what’s going to happen. You work yourself much harder and I’m scared you’ll just drop. It’s not fair, Mom! You’re one of the kindest, hardest working ponies I know, yet everypony acts like you don’t work that hard at all and just bumble around.”

I pull away from Dinky and walk towards my eldest daughter.

“Why does it have to be this way!? Why can’t somepony see how much you do? Why can’t—?”

She’s stops when I pull her into a wing her, wrapping my forelegs around her neck.

“I do it because I love you both so much,” I say, keeping my eyes closed. “I’ll never stop loving you and that’s why I keep going.”

“But... it’s not... fair...” Sparkler stutters, her anger fading away in the warmth of my hug. “You—” she returns my hug, wrapping her forelegs around my neck. “You work so hard! And I barely earn anything from my day job. I... Mom!”

She sobs as she holds onto me. I just hold her, gently stroking her mane. “It’ll be alright, honey,” I murmur to her. “It’ll be alright. You’ll see.”

___________________________________________________________

I open my eyes. “Everything will be alright... Spark... ler...?”

I look around, frowning. Where are those two fillies? Why am I lying on this bed...?

I shake my head and sigh, remembering. Frankly, I’m starting to really worry.

After we’d been able to calm down a bit from the changes, I’d started thinking about the long run. How could I stay with Kelly when I’m a pony? What if the government find out about me? Will I be taken to some laboratory we’re they’ll keep me as they try to find a cure?

Or worse. What if they don’t believe I used to be human and keep me locked up for experiments and study? I’d never see any of my family again.

On top of that I was worried about Derpy's memories. I seemed to be remembering a lot of her life, only forgetting small piece of each dream-memory I got. This worried me because Party was having nowhere near that kind of luck. He could barely hold on to scraps of his memories from his dreams. Why was I remembering stuff, yet he wasn't?

Was it because I was turning into a more well-known character? If so, that would be so unfair. However, something in my gut told me that wasn't the case. But, if not that, then what? Why was Discord's spell allowing me to rmeember Derpy's past more so than it was letting Ash remembering Party's?

“Derpy!”

The panicked, whispered voice from the doorway makes me look up from my bed, I’d fallen asleep earlier during my musings.

I look blearily at the unicorn standing in the doorway before he hurries in, closing the door behind him. “What?” I ask, rubbing my eyes.

“Shh!”

I frown, getting up and walking over to the door, where he’s still standing, leaning his head against it.

“What’s going on?” I whisper, guessing I needed to be quiet for whatever reason.

“The CDC are here!”

Those words make my blood run cold and my eyes widen. I hurry forward and lean my ear against the door, listening to the conversation being had down below.

“...are advising everyone, if you see anyone suffering these afflictions to call the CDC at once,” a male’s voice said, sounding official. “Are you certain you haven’t seen anyone exhibiting... strange symptoms? Nothing at all.”

“No,” Jenny’s voice says, sounding firm, but I can just tell from her voice that she’s terrified. You’d need to have known her as long I had to be able to hear it.

There was silence for a moment before the first voice spoke again. “Very well, and it’s only your family here, just you, your husband and children and your sister-in-law, no one else?”

“Correct,” Kelly’s voice replies. “Is that all, sirs?”

There’s a shuffling, followed by the first voice saying, “Have a pleasant day, ladies,” before the door closed.

Party and I stood at the door for several long minutes, our ears pressed against the wood as we listened to the sound of an engine before it faded away.

Once we were sure the coast was clear, Party opened the door with his magic and we hurried downstairs. Jenny and Kelly turned as we came down, their eyes wide, their mouths open. Their expression is of pure fear.

“The CDC have been patrolling the neighbor since yesterday,” Kelly gulps. “They said so before they started asking us questions.”

“This... this is bad!” I gulp, my skin tingling. “We need to find somewhere we can hide.”

“Hide?” Jenny stands up, confused. “Why?”

I growl, looking down. “You heard what he was saying, if they find anyone turning, or who has turned into a pony, they’ll take them away. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they came asking if anyone you knew was exhibiting strange symptoms without elaborating on the types of symptoms just days after Party and I turn into ponies.”

Both girls’ eyes widen further.

I hold up a hoof before they start panicking and frown, thinking. “We need to get somewhere safe. Maybe we can find a small place out of town, lay low, at least until the search dies down.”

Kelly stared at me, wide eyed. “How can you be so calm?! You should be panicking!”

“You try having and raising a foal when you’re only fourteen! This is nothing compared to... that...?”

I lower the hoof I’d raised and look off into the distance. What did I just say?

“Um, Derpy?” Party asks, coming closer and nudging me. “You feeling alright?”

I blink and shake my head. “Right. Sorry. Anyway, Jenny, know where we can find something we can all fit in, your car won’t be able to fit five humans and two ponies without it being obvious or dangerous.”

She frowns, thinking, though I can see she’s panicking still. Frankly, so am I. She nods, looking at me with wide eyes with worry. “I don’t. I’m so sorry, Ben.”

I shake my head. “It’s fine. Maybe we can sneak out at night or something, travel on foot... well, hoof for Party and me, I guess, then find something we can all fit in before heading down the road out of town to somewhere we can wait this out.”

I turn to see Jenny talking on her phone. “... just get them here, quickly. We’re leaving soon. Because the CDC are looking for people exhibiting strange symptoms. Do you really think it couldn’t be they’re talking about ponies? No, they somehow know two people within our neighborhood have turned into ponies and are looking for them. Yes, I’m worried about Ben and Ash. We need to get them out of here, quickly. Just hurry and get home.”

I nod. Once Damian gets here we can properly prepare. Despite all the trouble he gets into with the law, I’m glad we have Damian on our side. With his knowledge on how to avoid the authorities, he’ll be able to keep us hidden.

___________________________________________________________

“Derpy,” I glance behind me. Everyone is standing in the middle of the living room, bags over their backs, larger, arm-strap bags at their sides.

Only a day has passed since the visit from the CDC. We’d spent all of yesterday preparing. We’d packed supplies to last us on the trip along with Kelly and Jenny going with mine and Party's bank cards to empty our account; we'd need the money for things on the road. We were going to Des Moines. That place was usually pretty quiet and I hadn't heard anything in the news or found anything online suggesting the CDC were hanging around there, so there mustn't be any ponies there.

Timing couldn't have been worse, though. Something had sped across the US Cadandian boarder the other day. The only conclusions any had been able to come to was a missile of some kind, though every country was denying they'd fired it. This put the government on high alert, which meant police were more focused.

We were leaving now, while it was dark out, to maximise our chances of not getting caught, either by the police or the CDC. Had we left during the day it would’ve been absolutely impossible.

I nod and hover into the air, opening the door with my mouth. We all move out, myself keeping my eyes peeled for anything, thankful for my ability to sometimes see two things at once with my eyes facing different directions from each other.

We were going to try and make our way on foot as far as we could. We still had no idea where we were even going to get there, but we couldn’t just wait around for someone to come and take us all away.

I was no fool. Sure, Party and I were the ones who’d turned into ponies, but the CDC would keep Kelly, Jenny and the others under the guise that, since they’d been around us for so long, they could be carrying whatever had changed us and had to be kept in quarantine so it didn’t spread.

“Seth just called me!” I notice that Party sounds really alarmed as he hurries to close the door, cellphone hovering next to his head in his magic. “The CDC are at American Jewellery and Loan!”

It takes a second before my brain pieces what he’s just said together.

“What?” I shout, dropping to the ground, my wings outstretched. “What the hell are they doing at the store?”

He shakes his head. “They somehow know about me. They’re demanding Les tell them where I am so they can quarantine me to keep me safe.”

I snort. “Keep you safe? Yeah, sorry, not buying it.”

He nods. “Ashley’s using a customer’s phone, so they won’t think to track that.”

I nod. “Your boss’s smart. That was quick thinking on her part.”

“Mommy, what’s going on?” Sally asks as Kelly grabs her hand and we hurry across the street.

“Something bad, honey,” Jenny says as she looks around worriedly. “Some very bad people are coming and we need to get your aunt and Ash out of here, before they arrive.”

“Dad, who’re you talking to?” my ear swivel at the sound of the question and glance behind me. Damian’s got his phone out, clearly having been talking with someone. Since I hadn’t heard his voice, it must have been via text message.

“Son, I’m protecting us,” I hear Damian say quietly. If I were still human, I wouldn’t have been able to hear it.

I frown at his words. Something about it felt off, but I couldn’t put my hoof on why.

“Bad news,” Party says, popping his balloon phone. “Seth just messaged me. Someone spotted Ashley using the phone and questioned her, forcing her to tell them who she’d spoken to—”

I growl. Well, at least that didn’t know where we were...

“—and some of the CDC pulled out. He said they’re headed in this direction.”

My eyes widen. You have got to be kidding me!

I rubbed my head, trying to think. Thanks to my brain injury, my brain had somehow wired itself so that I knew how to plan and to adapt to changes in a situation better than before then. Looks like I’ll have to put that skill to the test, just as I’d been since waking up as a full pony.

We need to be sure not to be too obvious. The plan was to split up. Damian, Kelly and I would go around the west suburbs, while the others went around the east.

I didn’t like leaving Jenny and the kids or Party alone, but I had no choice. If the CDC had forced Ashley to talk, they’d know about all of us. They’d be looking for a group of seven. If we split into a group of four and three, we stood a better chance of not being noticed.

Party gives me a look before he heads off with the others, while I turn and nod to Kelly and Damian.

We start heading down the street, with me hovering so I could keep a good pace with them and to make direct eye contact if need be.

___________________________________________________________

I duck down behind a garbage bin as a van passes by. My heart jumps in my throat as I see the CDC logo printed on its side. This was bad.

We’d been moving through the streets, keeping to shadows (not helped by Damian constantly using his phone to text, though I suppose he’s just checking on Jenny, making sure she’s safe), making sure we’re not spotted.

We’re nearing the parkland, where we said we’d all meet up. It was a children’s park that had gone into disuse a long time ago and the council hadn’t bothered to have it repaired or even taken down, so it sat there, falling apart.

It was a perfect place to meet up. The chances the CDC would be think to look there was pretty low, almost non-existent.

However, I can’t help being on edge. We’d been seeing about nine vans pass by already and I hadn’t been able to help noticing they were heading in the same direction as the park.

I was trying to convince myself it was just coincidence though. There was no way they knew we’d be meeting up there, could they?

When we’re a few blocks away from the parkland, I realize with dread that a lot of the CDC vans are parked around this area. There’s no way they could know, but them being here might mean there was more ponies around.

A thought to try and save them crosses my mind, but, as much as I hate myself for it, I have to push those thoughts aside. I’ve my current family to worry about.

As we draw nearer, however, I hear voices, angry voices.

We hide behind a public toilet and peak out, only for my heart to seize up.

There are several CDC officers, all wearing hazmat suits, holding a group of humans, pushing them towards vans. However, my eyes zero in on the unicorn struggling against three officers trying to hold him steady, while a fourth aims a tranquilizer dart gun at the unicorn’s neck.

Party Favor! They’d known! How the hell had they known?

“Hey!” an angry voice bellows from behind me and, before I knowing what’s going on, Damian is shooting forward, his face a mask of anger.

He runs to the people pushing Jenny towards one van while her children scream for her as they’re pushed towards another.

The officers all turned at the sound of his voice, but he reaches the one with Jenny before they can do anything and shoves them aside, freeing his wife.

“You bastards! You told me you’d leave us alone since I gave you those beasts!” his eyes are wide with anger. “You never said anything about taking my family with them! We’re not mutant freaks, it’s them!”

Kelly is looking with worry and confusion at him.

I, on the other hand, feel my eyes narrow and my mouth curl into a snarl. Beasts? Give them to them? Mutant freaks? Considering the circumstances, and remembering his words to Mark earlier, all those lead to one thought in my mind, but the very idea of it tears at my heart and fills me with rage.

“You...” I growl, feeling a tingling surging from my hooves to my wings. “You backstabbing TRAITOR!”

I shoot forward, my wing angled as I soar across the ground, aiming at Damian.

My sudden shout and appearance throws everyone off, meaning no one stops me as I reach Damian and, using my gained momentum, slam my hoof into his face.

He soars across the parkland, slamming his back into the broken slide and slumping down.

“Damian!” Jenny cries, about to ran over to him, but I stop her, flying up in front of her, putting my forehooves on her shoulders.

“Leave him! He betrayed us!”

She stares at me, blinking in confusion. “What?”

I whirl around, glaring at the human that stands up, wiping the blood that was trickling down his mouth.

It all made sense now: why the CDC went to American Jewellery and Loan with the knowledge one of their employees had turned into a pony, how they knew where we were, where we planned to meet up, how they figured it out so fast. Damian ratted us out to save his own ass.

I explain all of this from what I'd observed back at the house and then as we were traveling with him, before coming to the park where the CDC somehow knew where we'd be, finding it very hard to not shoot across the parkland and slam him again.

“Damian...?” Jenny looks to her husband, her eyes brimming with tears. “It... it’s not true... is it? Please tell me it’s not true?”

He just glares at me. “Jen, wake up! They’re not human, they’re freaks. For all we know, them being around us so long could’ve infected us too.”

“You... you bastard!”

Something shoots past us and suddenly Damian is lying on the ground, his face bleeding even more so than when I’d hit him just moments ago.

Kelly is standing over him, her fist clenched, his eyes wide with rage. “You sold out my boyfriend?! You fucking bastard! You’re my brother! How could you do that!?”

We wince as she kicks him with each question and statement.

“Mommy!”

I glance over my shoulder as Mark and Sally embrace their mother, sobbing uncontrollably.

I feel the pit of rage within me grow deeper. Damian had caused this, to his own children. He’d made them think they’d never see their mother again.

I want to beat that guy to a pulp, though Kelly’s already doing a pretty good job.

It’s only just now that I notice the CDC officers haven’t reacted. I glance around, only to see them all tied up with balloon chains and in balloon cages.

“Taken care of.” I turn to see Party Favor stepping into one of the vans with cages. “Thanks for the distraction, Derpy. Gave me a chance to work my stuff.”

I would have questioned this, but put it aside for the moment, especially when I noticed him making a key out of a balloon (where the heck does he get those anyway?) and inserting it into the keyhole of a cage.

I hurry over as I realize there’s a pony lying unconscious on the floor of the cage. She’s a Pegasus with a pink coat and a blonde mane and tail. Her Cutie Mark is of two yellow lightning bolts.

My eyes widen as I look her over. “Honey Rays.” I don’t know how I know her name, but assume it’s something from Derpy’s memories slipping through.

The fact that I was looking at another pony wasn’t the main thing halting my thoughts, though. This meant Discord got more than just Party and me. They are more like us out there.

This was my worst fear as well as greatest hope.

Ash and I weren’t the only people turning into ponies. We weren’t singled out in this. However, now that the authorities know about it, they’re treating us like whatever is happening to us is like a plague. And they clearly weren’t caring if ponies wanted to go with them or not, considering what we’d seen with that mare.

People had found out about us were scared. And because they were scared, they were ignoring that we, despite turning into ponies, were still sapient beings that are just as scared and were treating us like things, not living creatures that need help.

“Looks like we weren’t the only ones around this area,” Party says, snapping me out of my thoughts, before levitating her gently out of the cage. I move over and he lowers her onto my back.

I nod, coming out of my stupor completely as I feel the weight of the other Pegasus on my back. “Seems we’ve added another.”

“Guys!” we both hurry out at the sound of Kelly’s terrified voice.

Our eyes widen. More vans are coming down the road, heading in our direction.

“Run!” I shout, turning and bolting across the parkland. We’d have to cross through the suburbs again.

We make it several blocks down before we have to duck into a driveway. We wait anxiously as a van slows down nearby a few minutes later and the sound of footsteps on the pavement begins.

I chance a glance around the edge of the driveway. There are several hazmats walking towards the house right next to us. they only saw us turn the corner, so they probably guessed we’d try hiding in one of these houses.

Damnit. Now what? How were we going to get away now, especially since our group is now one pony extra in numbers?

“Psst!”

I almost have a heart attack, only just managing to stop myself from jumping into the air.

I whirl around to see a man. He’s wearing a dressing gown. At once I tense, hurrying in front of everyone and taking a defensive stance.

Despite my open hostility, he smiles sadly at me. “Come. Let’s get you to safety.”

I slacken out of confusion. What?

He opens his door and ushers for us to hurry inside.

I hesitate, not sure if I should trust this guy, but the sounds of the CDC people in the next house makes me decide and I hurry everyone towards the door.

We move through his house’s hallway, not getting to see any of the room since they’ve all got doors, before he leads us out another door to what I can tell is his backyard.

Though, frankly, backyard’s being a bit generous. It was basically just space behind the house with dirt and dried out weeds sticking up.

The only thing there aside from the dirt and weeds is an RV. It's a Forester MBS model. My grandparents on my mother's side had owned one them when I was little. Though this one looks like it’s seen better years, the paint's faded, leaving it a creamy-brown colour where it would have been pristine white in the past.

An odd thing though, there was another driveway back here, this one exiting through the other side of the suburb.

I glanced up at the old, to find him glancing over his shoulder with a scowl on his face. Flicking my ears back, I could hear the sound of footsteps heading up the driveway at the front of the house.

“Get inside, quickly!” he whispered fiercely, opening the RV’s main door and ushering us in.

I would have questioned this, seeing as he was having us all cram into a small metal tin on wheels, but the sound of banging on the front door made my decision for me and I hurried in after the others.

“Now, wait here, while I handle this,” the old man said, closing the door, leaving us in semi-darkness due to the blinds, due to the window, which were on the left side of the RV having been drawn closed.

Sally moved to open them, but her mother stopped her, silently shaking her head.

I flicked my ears forward, trying to hear what was going on. Despite my pony hearing, the sounds were muffled through the RV’s metal, but I could just hear what the old man was doing.

“So, you fucking bastards are back to finish what ya started five years ago, eh?” the old man’s voice shouted. “Ya good fer nothin’ assholes should be rotting in a slammer!”

Wow. Talk about expressive. Clearly this guy had a beef with the CDC about something that happened five years ago. Wonder what it was?

“No, Mr. Hiligan, sir,” one male voice said, sounding a little worried. “We’re here to ask if you’ve seen any ponies around here? Two pegasi and a unicorn? They were with some humans as well. One of the pegasi would be unconscious and being carried by one of the hu—”

“Do I look like a farmer to you?!” Mr. Hiligan’s voice retorted. “I ain’t seen no ponies, horses or whatever. Now, leave me alone so I can live what’s left of my life in peace! I see any of you on my property again and I’ll call the cops!”

Normally I could see that threat working, but these guys were CDC. I’m not really sure the police could do much to them.

To my surprise though, it seems to work, because the sound of footsteps heading back down the front driveway tells me they’re leaving.

We all sit in the RV for several minutes, waiting anxiously. After what felt like an eternity, the door opened again, Mr. Hiligan standing in its frame, smiling wearily at us.

“If you drive out the back now, you might be able to get away without them following you.”

“Huh?” is the response of everyone else, including myself. Well, aside from the unconscious Honey Rays.

Mr. Hiligan walks in, takes Kelly’s hands and places a pair of keys in them. “I don’t need this RV anymore, haven’t for a long time. You use it to get away, that way it’s at least being put to some good use.” He then looks to Honey Rays sadly. "I'll miss Amber. She was a nice girl."

I frown. "Wait. You know her?"

He looks to me and nods. "Amber Welter. Nice girl. She'd come over and help me from time to time, or just to talk." He chuckles. "She always was going on about ponies." Then his face saddens. "I only wish I could've stopped her from being taken in the first place. I'd wondered why she hadn't come around in the last week."

He turns to leave, but I walk in front of him. “Mr. Hiligan... why did you help us? We’re ponies. Why would you help a bunch of ponies? Why aren’t you even startled by the fact that two of us can talk, or that one’s a unicorn and the other two are clearly pegasi?”

He gives me that sad smile from before again. He sighs, closing his eyes. “I was one of them fifty years ago, a member of the CDC.”

The kids gasp, causing me to roll my eyes. It wasn’t that big of a shock. Sure the idea that a former CDC guy was going against those he served with to help us was odd, but it didn’t require a gasp of utter shock.

I indicate for him to continue. There was something more about this.

He sighs glancing over his shoulder at the unconscious Honey Rays as Kelly and Jenny worked together to put her on the couch in the corner.

“Five years ago, I disconnected myself from them. I’d served to protect humanity from spreading diseases, all for my family, for fifty years before entering retirement. I even separated families in order to keep them safe from infections.” He scowled. “What I didn’t know was that the CDC would betray me, after all my years of service.”

~~~~~~~~~

I smiled as I watched my granddaughter playing with her dolls on the floor, while my wife spoke with our daughter and son-in-law.

They’d celebrated my seventieth birthday with a surprise party. My daughter had made me a college of our years. It had warmed my heart.

Suddenly, a banging comes from the front door.

I glance at my wife, who raises an eyebrow. We weren’t expecting any visitors aside from our daughter, her husband and our granddaughter.

Before I can even turn to head for the door, it comes down and men in hazmat suits come charging in. They grab each of us and start pulling us out.

My granddaughter is screaming for her mother as she clings to the frame of the door, before she’d pulled out.

“What’s going on?” I shout, glaring around at the people who broke into my house, before I see the CDC logo on their suits. “Why’s the CDC taking us away?”

I learn, however, it isn’t all of us that they’re taking. It’s only our daughter, her husband and our granddaughter. I try pushing my way through the numerous men in hazmat suits, trying to get to my family, but I’m not strong enough to fight off so many young people at my age.

After several minutes, I calm down enough for them to explain. They tell me they received a claim that someone reported to them that there was a chance that my daughter and her husband, and even our granddaughter had contracted the ebola virus are being taken for testing to prove if it is true and, just in case they are, to quarantine them before they get to the stage where it will spread.

They explained that, once they’d tested my family, provided the tests come back negative for the virus, they’d send them back, unharmed.

As much as I did not like this, my wife was practically in tears, I agree with them. I’d worked with them for a long time and knew they couldn’t just ignore a possible case of ebola.

FIVE MONTHS LATER

Dear Mr. Hiligan,

We are glad to inform you that neither your daughter, son-in-law or granddaughter had the ebola virus.

However, we do regret to inform you that, during their month waiting for release, they came into direct contact with another person we’d suspected of having the ebola virus. Unlike them, this person did have the virus. And, having been close to him for an extended time during their waiting time, each contracted it a day before their release. They perished two weeks later.

We offer our sincerest apologies for our mistake, sir, and offer our deepest condolences.

~~~~~~~~~

We all stared in silence after he finished, all horrified by what he’d explained.

“My wife broke down when she found out. She faded away until she wasn’t even really there. Then, two months after she learned about our family’s fates... she passed away herself.”

Kelly gulped. “H-how did she die?”

He looked to her sadly. “To be honest... I feel she died of a broken soul, miss. She just didn’t have the spirit to live on anymore. I’ve been living on my own and have had no respect for the CDC ever since.”

I frowned, glancing over my shoulder. “So that’s why you’re helping us, because of what happened to your own family?”

He nodded, turning to me. “I’ve seen what they’re doing. It sickens me. Whatever you ponies are, you’re not dangerous and I don’t believe you should be treated like... well, animals. You use to be humans, meaning you should be given the rights of humans. And whatever caused you to change, I get the feeling our science can’t explain it.”

Wow. If only he knew.

He smiles, walks out and glances back only to wave to us, before heading inside and closing the door behind him.

We all glance at each other, not sure what just happened. After a few moments, we nod, the kids, Party and I heading into the back sitting wherever we can find a spot, myself lying on the bed with the unconscious Pegasus we’d added to our group, while Jenny got into the driver’s seat and Kelly sat in the passenger seat.

We waited several minutes; just to be sure the CDC wouldn’t notice the sound of the RV starting up, before Jenny turned the ignition. The engine sputtered for a few moments, before it roared into life.

Jenny put it into gear and started pulling out of the back drive way, turned down the road and we started the drive out of town, most likely not to return.

Author's Note

Well, that proves how much Damian cares about his sister's happiness over his own. what a jerk.

So, we're on the road. Wonder what adventures they'll have along the way and where will they be when Dash's Sonic Rainboom occurs.

And what's Honey Rays story?

You'll have to wait until next chapter to find out.

Hope you enjoyed and, til next time, later everypony