Extra Stepsby DamagedChaptersFirst StepsFaltering StepsShaking StepsFirst StepsStretching and shaking my mane, I looked around the walls and items that vaguely felt like mine. This was my place, where I had obviously lived, but it really didn't seem 'right'. My focus turned more investigative and I looked over myself as a starting point. Silvery-white mane and tail, light blue coat of fur. Yup, I was certainly a pony! Or… no, something wasn't quite right, I mean I could see handles and knobs and things in the room that were certainly designed not for a pony. The vague impression that something had changed, that I had changed, rang through my being. I had been a… a human, but now I was most certainly a pony. And an ache of purpose grew in me. I wanted to be around other ponies. I wanted to MAKE other ponies! Working my strong legs, getting them under me, I felt strange for almost a dozen heartbeats, then it just felt right. Putting one hoof in front of the other I promptly fell down and hit my head on the floor. The next time I woke up it was easier, I scrambled to my hooves and trotted to the door. Without thinking about where each hoof was, I could walk fine! The door was an issue and I tried using my mouth, my hooves and even kicking it down. I yelled at it, just in case that would work and, when it didn't yield immediate results slumped my rump to the floor. Thinking about it, focusing on the door… worked. The handle turned and the door started to swing inwards, toward me! “Hello? Are you okay?” a male voice enquired and a human stepped in, blinking down to me in surprise. Standing just-on six feet tall, wearing a loose shirt and long pants, the dark-haired and eyed stranger looked a little surprised. Which was all the time I needed. Jumping, or more accurately pouncing, I landed atop him as he fell back, into the threshold. “Hi!” My talking surprised him nearly as much as having a heavy little pony on top of him. “Uh, hi… are you-” was all he got out before, following my urges and instincts, I leaned down and kissed him. His surprise kept him from responding for a moment, his jaw slack. Of course, being a feisty little mare, I pushed my tongue down, into his mouth and really tasted him. “Mrff! Hey, get off!” His strength was notable and I was shoved off and back. “Ugh, what the heck...” scrambling to his feet he started running for his own apartment, the door open across the hall and down a bit. “Hey, I'm not done with you!” I called, my voice practically purring as I gave chase. His attempt to slam the door behind him was not quick enough and I managed to slip mostly inside, the door bouncing off my side painfully. “Ow, hey that hurt!” There was no intelligible response, only a groan of pain as I could see his head changing. Perfect! Nosing the door closed behind me, to keep other ponies from interrupting, I trotted over to find the odd-looking human squirming on the floor, his head having just changed to that of a soft-yellow-furred pony. “Oh, you are going to be so cute, I might just have to keep you all to myself,” I told him, advancing and biting at his clothing. Why wasn't he wearing a nice shirt, buttons would be so much easier to tear off than this shirt was to pull up. “Come on, might as well help me now, no going back for you.” This only got more groans and a look from him that was both resigned and confused. “What is going on? I heard a news report… something about ponies on the loose, staying inside and… that feels nice.” I was, gently, nuzzling his belly and chest, applying licks and rubs. It was like my tongue was a paint brush, loaded with the soft yellow fur and he was my canvas. Looking up, my eyes locking on his, I made sure to lick a full pattern over his belly and chest. His almost serene pony features contorted again and I slowed down. The changes obviously hurt him, but I didn't stop. He would be my pony. Soon, from the waist up, he was a cute pony, rounded hooves giving way to soft and short legs where his arms should have been. No more fingers any more, but that was okay, he would be adorable! Something caught my eye, his head was a little different and it struck me that there was a horn growing from the middle of his forehead. “Huh, a unicorn?” I murmured. This information, along with the slowing of the changes, gave him a moment to go cross-eyed and try and look at it. Softly glowing, the horn seemed to be a point of wonder for him. “I… this is cool...” he was clearly distracted, looking around the room and, to my delight, making little things rise and fall. “Hey, try and lift me!” My words drew his attention, eyes uncrossing and looking at me. The horn started to glow and I felt a slight grip all over but he certainly couldn't lift me. “Aww, little things then?” I asked, getting a sad nod from him. Another kiss draw his sadness away. “Okay then,” I pronounced, “ready to finish what we started?” My reply was another kiss and an eager nod. His horn seemed limited to fine, light work, so removing his pants was easier now he was willing. Pulling them down with my teeth, I worked my way back up his legs with little licks here and there, spreading the changes slowly and in patches. I hoped this would make the pain a lot less. My reaction when his horn glowed and immediately his boxers were shredded, was surprised but also delighted. “Oh, eager? Maybe I should go slow?” This earned a whine from him and I could see he was quite obviously eager for attention. Leaning in, closing my eyes, I felt him, eager and hard. Wrapping my tongue around his length I gave a deep suck on it, hearing a wicker of delight loose from his lips. Pony mouths were every bit as well equipped for this as human ones it seems and, soon enough my little stallion was bucking and making very eager noises indeed. But just as I could sense him getting closer to his climax, he started to shrink! Whining, wanting my prize, I sucked harder and only hastened the change as his shaft soon pulled from my lips, settling down and hiding in a very enticing fold of skin and flesh. Not done with my new mare, I nuzzled and licked, bringing new sounds from her as the girl was assaulted in ways she had not felt before. Her end was fast, but all consuming. I felt muscles tense and start to spasm under my ministrations and slowed down, dragging out the release as she whined and called out, hooves thrashing and horn flickering a few times. With the girl now completely remade, I crawled up her body, belly-to-belly, nuzzling as I went. “Oh… ugh… I… thank you...” her words were breathy, confused but I could hear happiness in there. Seems she liked that. “Thought I had lost you for a moment there. Welcome to being a pony!” My words punctuated with a kiss, I continued, “so, want to go make some more?” Her grin was all I needed. With another kiss we rose. Our first obstacle was of course her front door. Having closed, it locked itself as well. “I got this!” Her exclamation accompanied by her horn glowing, I saw and heard as the purple-maned mare unlocked and opened the door in the same action. My brain filed this away, I wasn't sure if she noticed but she was doing multiple things at once with her horn, it didn't seem amazing but some part of me took notice. The doors in the hallway were all closed, people had either taken the news reports to heart and were locked safely inside, or had already run out, guns blazing. “Pick a door!” My companion sing-songed and I lifted my hoof. Closing my eyes, I gestured in a circle before pointing at one door. “That one!” Both of us trotted up. A hoof pressed gently to the door, I found it wouldn't open like that and so my marefriend employed her magic. “Ugh, no handle inside… oh, tumblers!” She twitched an eye, tongue hanging out the corner of her mouth cutely before a click sounded and she opened the door. “You ready?” she asks. Leaning into her side, giving her mane a gentle nip, I replied, “always.” They would never know what hit them! – She was watching the outcome of their ritual through the snapshots of dreams, of the people of that other world. It was wrong, it wasn't meant to be like this! Luna started to focus in, trying to narrow her dreams down to a few who seemed to carry a stronger pony-essence than the others. It would take a lot of work, but she just might be able to contact them over the barrier between worlds... Author's Note Well, a new player has entered the game. Will they bring typos with them? Faltering Steps“Twelve!” The call from down the hall made me giggle as I got up off a newly changed mare. “Nine, but one I got found three others!” I stood up, giving the surprised pony under me a little nuzzle. “You find someone nice,” I told them, “I gotta go back to my beau.” Trotting out into the hall, I saw a silver tail flick from another open doorway. “Hey, you find any food?” I called, heading to find out what was in the room that, I was sure, had been opened already. “Yeah,” the unicorn and focus of my affections replied, “these people left their cereal out. Tastes great!” The second part, obscured by the sounds of chewing, enticed me in. After pulling a few cupboards open with my mouth I found what I was after. Crunchy nut! “So,” I began, talking between mouthfuls, “can you remember your name? Can't for the life of me even remember what I looked like.” She raised her head from her mastication. “Mmmf, nope. But I think you are my love… Love Pillow? Love Shadow? Love-” “Don't you dare...” I cut in, glaring at her in mock anger. “Delicate… Miracle.” It seemed right to have two words, just like that. “Yup, you are Delicate Miracle. Del would be a nickname I guess.” Tilting her head slightly she gives a little nod. “I like that, Grace.” It was my turn for pondering and I found that seemed like a good name, although it felt a little incomplete. Conversation turned a little more toward planning next, “so, where to from here, Del, I think we got everyone still in here, should we find another building?” My mare's eyes flashed in excitement, Delicate pulling her snout out of the pack of cereal. With a nod she saluted and then took off at a run. “First to get to ten gets to snuggle the other!” A game of changing humans to ponies, it seemed like the perfect thing so I rose up and gave chase. Navigating the stairs was quick work and as I got to the bottom floor I saw her silver tail flick as she was out into the street. Laughing, chasing that tail, I could hear something that vaguely made sense to be cautious of. It took until I got to the door before my change-addled brain figured out what it was. Car tires screeching at speed. The vehicle was big, built more for being off roads than on, it left it with poor handling and as I watched the human driver seemed both ill-equipped to stop in time and unwilling. I saw Del's horn light as she tried to move either herself, the car or something. But it didn't help. Time slowed, I saw the big mesh of bars at the front hit her head, knocking her to the side as it clipped her. There wasn't a lot of blood, but Del wasn't moving. At all. Then I saw her chest fill out and sighed. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit...” other words were lost, the effort to think them beyond me as I looked around for help. Crying, laying my head on her shoulder, I just couldn't think what to do. I could hear her heart, her breathing, but what could a simple pony do? ~'Bring her, bring her here'~ My head shot up so fast I almost gave myself whiplash. I had a sense of direction, of where that voice came from but it felt far away… They said to bring her, though, and that seemed the best idea. My brain seemed to start working again. I found some boards that had been clumsily gathered to board up a window and abandoned. Working carefully, I got the lumber under Delicate, even grabbing some discarded police tape to lash her to it. Winding the tape up to the top of the board I bit down as hard as I could and I dragged her. ~'Keep coming, you are doing well'~ The encouragement blinded me to how far and how fast I was moving. Every step sent a jolt of pain through my mouth. “She told us to wait here… there they are!” A male voice, ahead of me, sliced past the fog of pain and I fell down. Blacking out, I managed to beg them, “save my Delicate...” Darkness flowed over me. Waking, slowly, head full of confusion as to where I was I looked around and discovered I was in what looked like a hospital room, curled up on the floor. Only one thing fit in my head right then. “Delicate?” My voice shook, I got up to wobbling legs and managed to get to the door. “DELICATE?” “Miss!” A pony in a modified version of a nurse uniform replied, trotting over and curling a wing over my shoulder. She gripped remarkably tight considering the limb used but it was welcome. “Your friend is recovering from surgery, she had a hard knock on her head.” “She is okay?” words tumbled from my mouth, “please, can I see her?” The mare gave a nod and started moving. I guess I realised then how bad my own balance was as she seemed to guide me effortlessly around a few corners and into a room with a group of beds. I saw her and instantly my legs were strong enough again. The beds were of course set much lower than they used to be but I still reared up and looked down on her. My sweet Delicate Miracle, head wrapped in bandages, a hoof too, lay still but breathing. “Del… please be okay...” my eyes closed and I felt the nurse push my back end up onto the bed too. Once more with my marefriend, sleep took me. A hoof rubbed my mane back, a yellow-furred hoof. “I can't remember your name, but I know you are my mare.” Her words shocked me, she couldn't remember my name but…. My worry must have shown because the hoof's friend reached around me and I was pulled into a tight hug. My own limbs returned the gesture, my tears flowed down to mark her fur with little clear rivulets. “You are Delicate. Delicate Miracle. I am… you named me Grace.” I told her, “do you remember anything?” I could feel her head shake. “They told me you dragged me here, your mouth looks sore...” Her cure for that, was perfect. Her lips met mine, I was blind from the tears but sight wasn't needed, only love. Pressing back, I felt her hooves get a little more interested, her touches lighting a fire in me that I feared I might not have again. “No, I don't care how relieved you two are no horsing around!” A nurse's bellow as she clopped into the room cut off our exploration and my tears cleared, a giggle coming from each of us. “Now, your friend has had a serious head trauma, she may not have any side eff-” I cut her off, “she cannot remember what happened, couldn't remember her name… her pony name.” The nurse seemed deflated, a slight nod from Del reinforcing my words. “Not the best of signs but, she is awake. That IS a good sign. Pony heads seem a bit harder than human ones, thankfully. I will tell the doctor you are awake, he is busy as you could guess. And then She will want to talk to you.” Her emphasis on the pronoun had me tilting my head. “Was she the one who called me?” I asked. “She will undoubtedly tell you why she called you.” The nurse turned, heading back out to the ward. My interest in this was broken by another nuzzle. “Grace, I… I hope I don't forget that next time but if I do,” Del nuzzled me again to make sure she had my attention, “remind me, like you are about to. I want to know everything, everything you did, everything I did.” I held back my urges to do more than nuzzle back. “Well, the first time we met, you were human. A cute guy,” I paused while she took that in, “you tried to run away from me, but I was faster than you.” Recounting our time together didn't take long, but the time was extended by repeated nuzzles and the occasional nuzzle. “So… I can use this thing?” she asked, eyes crossing as she looked up to her horn. “No,” a male voice says from the doorway, “not until you have had a day to rest at the least. Magic stresses the mind and your mind is stressed enough.” I half-rolled so that I was spooned against Del's belly. The unicorn stallion, wearing a coat over his back, looked very competent and I felt a slight twinge of possibility, but my mate's hooves around me reminded my traitorous body of what it really wanted. “No sex either, for either of you in fact. Your mouth is still recovering, although it seems to have bounced back quickly I don't wish you to… stress it.” Despite being a doctor, having that air of 'everything is clinical', I saw a blush. “Yes doctor!” I said, like a school kid to their teacher. It got a giggle from Del and a chuckle from the doctor. “Your friend loves you a lot miss.” He tells Del, stepping in, his horn lighting up. Del eeped a little but didn't squirm, clearly being inspected by the doctor. “Well, it seems to be healing, the nurse said you have some memory issues?” As always with doctors, it was half question half accusation. “Yeah, Grace was filling me in. I used to be a guy, how does that work?” I managed to witness the marvel of a unicorn shrugging. “Hell if I know, this is all arse about, I thought it was a virus at first, but while it seems to carry on body fluid contact, I haven't managed to narrow down how. At least I can keep practising. As for you, bed rest for a few days, I will check on you then to see how it is going. Hopefully that memory will come better.” His horn lit then, a pad floating from the pocket of his shirt, a pen too. I grinned, knowing the plan. “You can write things down, Del.” I got a squeeze for this, a nuzzle and a soft whisper in my ear. “I don't need to write things down, not with you beside me.” The softest of words, they filled me with strength and courage. If she trusted me this much, how could I possibly fail? “The nurse call button is up there. Just nose it if you need help with something. We are a little short-staffed right now, but as more recover we are getting better help. She is making sure we can keep our heads a bit more clear too.” The doctor gestured to the button to show it and gave us one more nod and left. “Well,” Del began, “they sure seem to have a queen somewhere. Can't say she sounds bad, but I worry when one person has power.” The observation matched mine. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Hopefully it was only a little corruption. We lay still, I let her keep me tucked against her belly like a big teddy bear, getting the occasional nibble on an ear. Her belly rumbled first, then mine just after. We both giggled at this and I was just moving to nose at the nurse button when a trolley rolled in, two bowls of porridge on it that smelled divine. The mare that followed them in, classically speaking, was the opposite. Black, from her nose to her rump, her mane was like a stormy night, boiling masses of grey and dark hair that trailed from her neck and head as well as her tail. Folded at her sides were a pair of bat-like wings and, as if she needed it to be imposing, a horn. “How are you feeling… Grace was it?” Her voice was strong, rather than deep. Still very feminine, but giving a sense that the owner was an order of magnitude larger than she seemed. But I recognised it. The one that had saved my Del. That had guided me, given me the direction I needed. The tears came easily, again. “Thank you!” I said, breaking down as a sense of weight lifted away, as if her presence gave command. Looking up at her through my tears I saw consternation and… love? “I felt your friend's pain, when she was hurt. I could feel her love for you, and your's for her. I had to do something. I am deeply sorry if I… made you do something.” She seemed worried. “You told Grace how to help me, I don't think she will be mad.” Delicate's words echoed my thoughts and it came to me. She isn't a goddess, a queen, or anything like that. She is just a pony. Giving Del a nuzzle I got up and on still-shaky legs passed the cart. The mare was big, physically big. I leaned up and gave her a nuzzle against that neck. She tensed a moment and relaxed, nuzzling back. “Thank you, I could never, ever take hurt at what you did. I couldn't think, you told me how to save the love of my life.” The mare relaxed more. The two bowls floated from the tray over to the bed and she, with me at her side, followed them. “I can command ponies, I can make them… do things.” Her head rested on the bed as I climbed back up. “I didn't want this, I can… I can even remember what I was like before. I worked in an office, I wrote programs, I lived on my own… I had a boyfriend who, I can't even feel him.” Looking to Delicate for a brief moment, we moved together. She was too big to hug on our own, but the two of us could get a hoof around each other and her. Too big to pull up onto the bed, we had to be content with just holding her, letting her know how much we appreciated her. Tears flowed from all three of us. For friends, for family, for people we barely knew who didn't deserve what happened to them, lost, alone. I am not sure how it really ended up happening, but with all the craziness, sleep reached out and grabbed us. My dream was odd. I saw a dark mare who I thought was Her, but even as I blinked in my dream I realised I was still snuggled with a big black wing over me. It was someone else. Someone who seemed to smile for a brief moment before she was gone. – Luna kept flicking through as many dreams as she could, pushing herself to try and help those people… ponies now mostly. Some she could help. Offering comforting dreams to pacify the odd presences that encourage their more aggressive behaviour and, where she could connect to a stronger influence, a few words of support. Author's Note David had a poke at me for typos, but I found a typo in his poke and so, find myself likely infected with them too. Maybe I will grow hoovez? New ponies (some very new) introduced, some action, but nothing affection and a good editor cannot help. Shaking StepsAuthor's Note Please ignore this "update", I am testing API stuff on an old story. Shaking Steps The cries of alarm were what woke me. Cozy as it was, the three of us mares curled up like this, something was clearly wrong. A hospital was never, ever completely dark. Dim emergency lights flickered on but clearly were not up for more than stopping ponies bumping into each other. “Uh, miss?” I asked, gently shaking the big midnight mare. She and Del woke from the same stimulation, the latter looking a little confused until she spotted me. “Oh no, the power!” The big mare was instantly on her hooves and taking off out the door, her wings opening a little to help hasten her. Del looked at me a moment, tilting her head. “I am Grace, you are Delicate Miracle.” The words stirred a bigger smile to her face and she was moving, getting up to follow the mare. “Yeah, she runs this place and she might need our help, I will explain more on the way.” Helping each other off the bed, we both poked heads out into the dimly lit ward. A dark, black-on-black flank faded down to our left and we started to trot out only to hear a cry of alarm from our right. “Uh, um...” I deliberated but Del shook her head. “That sounded more urgent, lets go.” Trotting together, our flanks sometimes contacting lightly, we heard a stallion cursing enough to make a sailor swear and in the Australian accent he had, it just sounded twice as bad! “I need light damn-it, I could lose them!” Was about the only repeatable-in-fine-company thing he said and we headed in the direction of the voice. Through a door, we were in the observation room peeking into an operating theatre. On the table a pegasai with a mangled wing and more damage to their torso lay… in the dark. “Del you can… you can move things with your horn,” I started to explain, getting that cute cross-eyed look on Delicate's face, “can you… I don't know, rub the air together enough to make light, or something?” She looked at me now, eyes wide, tilting her head a little to the side. Her horn lit and, in the theatre, an instrument or two rattled before a light started to arc on one of them. Growing brighter and brighter, it soon illuminated the room with a bright flare. “Who the hell is… never-mind, raise that up above my head please, we might be able to save him!” The doctor's own horn lit up, lifting a clamp in, then grabbing other tools of his trade. After a few minutes, leaving the room in silence so as not to break Delicate's focus, I eventually rolled over a chair, positioning it just to the side of my marefriend. Understanding what I intended, she smiles and transferred herself to it, curling up to keep the room lit. The doctor worked, not knowing if the light would give out at any moment, but still he couldn't give up. “Okay, I have most of these bleeds stopped, I am going to sew him back up and hopefully his own body can handle the rest. Whoever you are with that light, please, just a few more minutes!” It was tense, the doctor working to leave neat sutures but not taking his time with them. Almost as soon as he set the needle down the theatre lights came back up, but not the room ones. Del slumped on the chair, a weary smile on her muzzle. Leaning in, I nuzzled and licked her cheeks, telling her in soft words how proud I was. “That was her?” the doctor asked, stepping out of the sterile theatre, “well, I would have liked her to spend a bit more time before using her magic, but after that show of resourcefulness, I will have to compromise and say thank you.” His hoof lifted, held out for Del. Who reached out with her own and bumped it. “You saved him?” her voice is soft, a little weary. Nodding, the doctor replies. “He will live. As long as I got all those bleeds… how did you make that light so bright?” Del, watching the doctor strip off the green plastic scrubs with a critical eye smiles more and nudges me. “Grace had the idea, well, kind of. I tried her plan, rubbing the air together. Wouldn't heat up enough. So I rubbed one of the knives.” Back in the theatre, said knife had since dropped into a basin, still glowing red hot. “Very clever. We can use clever ponies here. Bloody Mess.” He flicks his ears, waiting for a response. I guessed it was his name, but it was a bit macabre. “One of the nurses called me that. Said that the first thing I said after waking up with four legs was to yell and call everything a bloody mess. It stuck.” “I am Delicate, this is Grace. Pleased to meet you Bloody!” Del replied, offering a hoof to bump again, and getting it. “Another op next,” Bloody begins thinking out loud, “then I have some wards to visit. One of them contains a very pretty pair of mares, one of whom I hear is having memory problems. How is that coming, getting anything?” Del's head hangs, getting a snuggle from me of sympathy. “Nothing, kinda worse if anything. I can barely remember what happened yesterday it… it is like I know the big things, but all the details are trapped in a fog.” The stallion moved to the other side of her, shoring up her un-snuggled side. He looked to me though. “Grace? I have something very important for you to do. Don't leave her side, help be her memory.” I nodded to this, he could likely already see that we were very close. “Already on it!” I gave what I thought would be a passable salute and kissed Del's cheek. There was a crash at the doors and they flew open, the dark presence of Her entering. “Bloody! How did… Grace? Delicate?” her confusion at seeing the two of us here cleared quickly and I felt as much as heard her ask, “what happened?” We were still filling her in when the good doctor, having slipped out and begun his scrubbing for the next operation, entered the adjoining theatre and was beginning to prep again. A pony was wheeled in on a trolley. “Del, lets wait. We don't want Bloody Mess to be without light in case anything happens again.” My warning drew everyone's attention to the fact the doctor was about to begin. “What exactly happened… miss?” I asked, realising all at once that, for all I knew about Her, I did not know her name. “Star Shadow,” she replied, unable to stop a grin, “and it was the generator. Power died a few days back, we were running off the diesel for a while but it was never meant to be anything but a short term solution, a day of power at most.” “So… how do we have power? Is it fixed?” Delicate asked, looking to me. It was clear she wanted me to remember these things for her. I would have to try and take more stock of the world around me. “Fixed? Hardly. There is ten unicorns out there, two of them are patients. They are spinning the flywheel of the generator with their horns. Going to have to find more volunteers for it. Might even set up some kind of hamster wheel… will need to ask Nuts if that will work.” The solution had us both wide eyed, it was such an easy one, if likely hard work for the unicorns. We sat in silence, mostly, for the rest of the doctor's work. The pony in question had been rescued from a trap that someone had laid down. While it had been removed, so Star explained, it seemed that infection had set into the poor pony's leg. I was about to get righteous and angry when Del reached a hoof out, halting the burning anger I had for what a human would do. “Grace, they would have been defending themselves.” The words made sense, but why wouldn't the humans want to be ponies? It was silly! My marefriend of course saw this in my eyes and grinned. “I… I think I remember trying to get away from a particular mare once, much good it did me.” “You remembered!” I exclaimed but my happy dance was halted by her look and shaking head. “What?” “It is just a dim shadow. I wasn't even sure it was you until your response. You did make me a pony?” Her words carried no anger, no regret. I nosed her cheek and nodded. “I made you both pony and mare that day… hell, it feels like an aeon but it was only a few days ago.” My confession got a return nuzzle from her. Star, it seemed, was content to watch us and listen for now, the first big tragedy of the day already dealt with. Our nuzzling got a little more focused before I realised the big bat-pony had stiffened, a far-away look on her face. “Wha-” Del starts to say, I gently tap a hoof to her lips. We both, apparently, hear it at the same time. ~'do not attack them, herd them toward me'~ Her mental voice was not focused, although Star Shadow seemed to attempt to keep it from interrupting the doctor in the next room. ~'bring them, do not infect them'~ I realised then she was trying to keep ponies from attacking some humans and, if she were bringing them to the hospital, it meant they were wounded! A glance revealed that the doctor had finished with his grisly work, the pony's limb severed near their shoulder. Giving him a nod, I drew Delicate to follow. “Come on Del, lets head to… to the emergency entrance.” Leaving Star to do her mind-whammy thing, we headed out, following the signs down the hall until we were at a very strange sight indeed. Nurses, patients, other helpers like us, all in a wide circle around three humans! “Stay back!” One snarled, holding a baseball bat. I could feel Star in my head, trying to hold me back too but instead of fighting her, I relaxed and let her just keep that part of me from wanting to lash out. “Come in here!” I called. “Del, can you open the… good.” They seemed a little confused at first but got the idea and rushed through emergency and, with a startled nurse quickly moving back from them but pointing with a hoof, into an unoccupied room. I tried to follow them but Star's effect was keeping me from being able to go into that room, which was when I got surprised by Del trotting into their room. Star Shadow raced down the hall and, partially freed from her control I was able to peek into the room just as she did when she arrived. Delicate was in there, chatting away to them, one of the humans, a young woman, rubbing her ears! “Is she?” Star asked, her question trailing off. My jaw was down at least an inch. “She doesn't seem to want to infect them… I wonder if she even can? Did you do that?!” I asked, gathering my wits and getting a shrug and a head-shake from Star. A third head peeks in under ours, Bloody. “Looks like a shattered tibia. I hope Delicate doesn't mind blood, because all I want to do is go in and lick that better…” “Same,” I replied, “so what, you going to step her through what is needed?” He nodded at that. “How soon? If it takes too long to explain you might want to let her sleep and start fresh.” Of course, my plan was that we explain it all to Del but Bloody had other ideas. “I can't train her to be a doctor in a day. She will be my magic for me. Damned if I know how she can reach as far as she does, but she will have to be in the theatre and I will sit outside and try and keep from rushing in to infect them-” he was explaining but his almost-drawl got cut short by Star. “That I can help with. With just you to focus on, I should be able to keep your thoughts clear as I did for Grace here.” The big mare's words seemed right but I knew she was missing something. I nudged her to get her attention. “That… that took something on my end.” I explained, leaning into her bigger form. “I… I needed to let you into my head… all the way in.” The touch of her mind to mine came again, gentle, no force behind it like earlier. But once I had let her in, let her mind beyond the simple control-level that she could force, I could not take it back. “Oh...” Star said, looking surprised and quickly pulling, mentally, free. Grinning up to her I nudged her shoulder. “It's okay, I trust you.” But I was blushing. While it was true that the pony I had become carried little as far as secrets, there were private things that the big mare could likely peek at. Only barely catching what is going on, Bloody tilted his head. “You having me on? How did… scratch that, if you can at least stop me wanting to run in, that will do.” I let out a breath. I would need to talk with Star Shadow and Delicate Miracle, in a room, at the same time, about all this. But first, it seemed, we had a job to do! – Luna felt the pull at her dream, focusing in on the dream-that-isn't-a-dream that is one of the lesser ponies on that other world trying to influence others. A bright flash in the not-dream makes her smile. It is rare for two such to meet like that, rare and beautiful.
First StepsStretching and shaking my mane, I looked around the walls and items that vaguely felt like mine. This was my place, where I had obviously lived, but it really didn't seem 'right'. My focus turned more investigative and I looked over myself as a starting point. Silvery-white mane and tail, light blue coat of fur. Yup, I was certainly a pony! Or… no, something wasn't quite right, I mean I could see handles and knobs and things in the room that were certainly designed not for a pony. The vague impression that something had changed, that I had changed, rang through my being. I had been a… a human, but now I was most certainly a pony. And an ache of purpose grew in me. I wanted to be around other ponies. I wanted to MAKE other ponies! Working my strong legs, getting them under me, I felt strange for almost a dozen heartbeats, then it just felt right. Putting one hoof in front of the other I promptly fell down and hit my head on the floor. The next time I woke up it was easier, I scrambled to my hooves and trotted to the door. Without thinking about where each hoof was, I could walk fine! The door was an issue and I tried using my mouth, my hooves and even kicking it down. I yelled at it, just in case that would work and, when it didn't yield immediate results slumped my rump to the floor. Thinking about it, focusing on the door… worked. The handle turned and the door started to swing inwards, toward me! “Hello? Are you okay?” a male voice enquired and a human stepped in, blinking down to me in surprise. Standing just-on six feet tall, wearing a loose shirt and long pants, the dark-haired and eyed stranger looked a little surprised. Which was all the time I needed. Jumping, or more accurately pouncing, I landed atop him as he fell back, into the threshold. “Hi!” My talking surprised him nearly as much as having a heavy little pony on top of him. “Uh, hi… are you-” was all he got out before, following my urges and instincts, I leaned down and kissed him. His surprise kept him from responding for a moment, his jaw slack. Of course, being a feisty little mare, I pushed my tongue down, into his mouth and really tasted him. “Mrff! Hey, get off!” His strength was notable and I was shoved off and back. “Ugh, what the heck...” scrambling to his feet he started running for his own apartment, the door open across the hall and down a bit. “Hey, I'm not done with you!” I called, my voice practically purring as I gave chase. His attempt to slam the door behind him was not quick enough and I managed to slip mostly inside, the door bouncing off my side painfully. “Ow, hey that hurt!” There was no intelligible response, only a groan of pain as I could see his head changing. Perfect! Nosing the door closed behind me, to keep other ponies from interrupting, I trotted over to find the odd-looking human squirming on the floor, his head having just changed to that of a soft-yellow-furred pony. “Oh, you are going to be so cute, I might just have to keep you all to myself,” I told him, advancing and biting at his clothing. Why wasn't he wearing a nice shirt, buttons would be so much easier to tear off than this shirt was to pull up. “Come on, might as well help me now, no going back for you.” This only got more groans and a look from him that was both resigned and confused. “What is going on? I heard a news report… something about ponies on the loose, staying inside and… that feels nice.” I was, gently, nuzzling his belly and chest, applying licks and rubs. It was like my tongue was a paint brush, loaded with the soft yellow fur and he was my canvas. Looking up, my eyes locking on his, I made sure to lick a full pattern over his belly and chest. His almost serene pony features contorted again and I slowed down. The changes obviously hurt him, but I didn't stop. He would be my pony. Soon, from the waist up, he was a cute pony, rounded hooves giving way to soft and short legs where his arms should have been. No more fingers any more, but that was okay, he would be adorable! Something caught my eye, his head was a little different and it struck me that there was a horn growing from the middle of his forehead. “Huh, a unicorn?” I murmured. This information, along with the slowing of the changes, gave him a moment to go cross-eyed and try and look at it. Softly glowing, the horn seemed to be a point of wonder for him. “I… this is cool...” he was clearly distracted, looking around the room and, to my delight, making little things rise and fall. “Hey, try and lift me!” My words drew his attention, eyes uncrossing and looking at me. The horn started to glow and I felt a slight grip all over but he certainly couldn't lift me. “Aww, little things then?” I asked, getting a sad nod from him. Another kiss draw his sadness away. “Okay then,” I pronounced, “ready to finish what we started?” My reply was another kiss and an eager nod. His horn seemed limited to fine, light work, so removing his pants was easier now he was willing. Pulling them down with my teeth, I worked my way back up his legs with little licks here and there, spreading the changes slowly and in patches. I hoped this would make the pain a lot less. My reaction when his horn glowed and immediately his boxers were shredded, was surprised but also delighted. “Oh, eager? Maybe I should go slow?” This earned a whine from him and I could see he was quite obviously eager for attention. Leaning in, closing my eyes, I felt him, eager and hard. Wrapping my tongue around his length I gave a deep suck on it, hearing a wicker of delight loose from his lips. Pony mouths were every bit as well equipped for this as human ones it seems and, soon enough my little stallion was bucking and making very eager noises indeed. But just as I could sense him getting closer to his climax, he started to shrink! Whining, wanting my prize, I sucked harder and only hastened the change as his shaft soon pulled from my lips, settling down and hiding in a very enticing fold of skin and flesh. Not done with my new mare, I nuzzled and licked, bringing new sounds from her as the girl was assaulted in ways she had not felt before. Her end was fast, but all consuming. I felt muscles tense and start to spasm under my ministrations and slowed down, dragging out the release as she whined and called out, hooves thrashing and horn flickering a few times. With the girl now completely remade, I crawled up her body, belly-to-belly, nuzzling as I went. “Oh… ugh… I… thank you...” her words were breathy, confused but I could hear happiness in there. Seems she liked that. “Thought I had lost you for a moment there. Welcome to being a pony!” My words punctuated with a kiss, I continued, “so, want to go make some more?” Her grin was all I needed. With another kiss we rose. Our first obstacle was of course her front door. Having closed, it locked itself as well. “I got this!” Her exclamation accompanied by her horn glowing, I saw and heard as the purple-maned mare unlocked and opened the door in the same action. My brain filed this away, I wasn't sure if she noticed but she was doing multiple things at once with her horn, it didn't seem amazing but some part of me took notice. The doors in the hallway were all closed, people had either taken the news reports to heart and were locked safely inside, or had already run out, guns blazing. “Pick a door!” My companion sing-songed and I lifted my hoof. Closing my eyes, I gestured in a circle before pointing at one door. “That one!” Both of us trotted up. A hoof pressed gently to the door, I found it wouldn't open like that and so my marefriend employed her magic. “Ugh, no handle inside… oh, tumblers!” She twitched an eye, tongue hanging out the corner of her mouth cutely before a click sounded and she opened the door. “You ready?” she asks. Leaning into her side, giving her mane a gentle nip, I replied, “always.” They would never know what hit them! – She was watching the outcome of their ritual through the snapshots of dreams, of the people of that other world. It was wrong, it wasn't meant to be like this! Luna started to focus in, trying to narrow her dreams down to a few who seemed to carry a stronger pony-essence than the others. It would take a lot of work, but she just might be able to contact them over the barrier between worlds... Author's Note Well, a new player has entered the game. Will they bring typos with them?
Faltering Steps“Twelve!” The call from down the hall made me giggle as I got up off a newly changed mare. “Nine, but one I got found three others!” I stood up, giving the surprised pony under me a little nuzzle. “You find someone nice,” I told them, “I gotta go back to my beau.” Trotting out into the hall, I saw a silver tail flick from another open doorway. “Hey, you find any food?” I called, heading to find out what was in the room that, I was sure, had been opened already. “Yeah,” the unicorn and focus of my affections replied, “these people left their cereal out. Tastes great!” The second part, obscured by the sounds of chewing, enticed me in. After pulling a few cupboards open with my mouth I found what I was after. Crunchy nut! “So,” I began, talking between mouthfuls, “can you remember your name? Can't for the life of me even remember what I looked like.” She raised her head from her mastication. “Mmmf, nope. But I think you are my love… Love Pillow? Love Shadow? Love-” “Don't you dare...” I cut in, glaring at her in mock anger. “Delicate… Miracle.” It seemed right to have two words, just like that. “Yup, you are Delicate Miracle. Del would be a nickname I guess.” Tilting her head slightly she gives a little nod. “I like that, Grace.” It was my turn for pondering and I found that seemed like a good name, although it felt a little incomplete. Conversation turned a little more toward planning next, “so, where to from here, Del, I think we got everyone still in here, should we find another building?” My mare's eyes flashed in excitement, Delicate pulling her snout out of the pack of cereal. With a nod she saluted and then took off at a run. “First to get to ten gets to snuggle the other!” A game of changing humans to ponies, it seemed like the perfect thing so I rose up and gave chase. Navigating the stairs was quick work and as I got to the bottom floor I saw her silver tail flick as she was out into the street. Laughing, chasing that tail, I could hear something that vaguely made sense to be cautious of. It took until I got to the door before my change-addled brain figured out what it was. Car tires screeching at speed. The vehicle was big, built more for being off roads than on, it left it with poor handling and as I watched the human driver seemed both ill-equipped to stop in time and unwilling. I saw Del's horn light as she tried to move either herself, the car or something. But it didn't help. Time slowed, I saw the big mesh of bars at the front hit her head, knocking her to the side as it clipped her. There wasn't a lot of blood, but Del wasn't moving. At all. Then I saw her chest fill out and sighed. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit...” other words were lost, the effort to think them beyond me as I looked around for help. Crying, laying my head on her shoulder, I just couldn't think what to do. I could hear her heart, her breathing, but what could a simple pony do? ~'Bring her, bring her here'~ My head shot up so fast I almost gave myself whiplash. I had a sense of direction, of where that voice came from but it felt far away… They said to bring her, though, and that seemed the best idea. My brain seemed to start working again. I found some boards that had been clumsily gathered to board up a window and abandoned. Working carefully, I got the lumber under Delicate, even grabbing some discarded police tape to lash her to it. Winding the tape up to the top of the board I bit down as hard as I could and I dragged her. ~'Keep coming, you are doing well'~ The encouragement blinded me to how far and how fast I was moving. Every step sent a jolt of pain through my mouth. “She told us to wait here… there they are!” A male voice, ahead of me, sliced past the fog of pain and I fell down. Blacking out, I managed to beg them, “save my Delicate...” Darkness flowed over me. Waking, slowly, head full of confusion as to where I was I looked around and discovered I was in what looked like a hospital room, curled up on the floor. Only one thing fit in my head right then. “Delicate?” My voice shook, I got up to wobbling legs and managed to get to the door. “DELICATE?” “Miss!” A pony in a modified version of a nurse uniform replied, trotting over and curling a wing over my shoulder. She gripped remarkably tight considering the limb used but it was welcome. “Your friend is recovering from surgery, she had a hard knock on her head.” “She is okay?” words tumbled from my mouth, “please, can I see her?” The mare gave a nod and started moving. I guess I realised then how bad my own balance was as she seemed to guide me effortlessly around a few corners and into a room with a group of beds. I saw her and instantly my legs were strong enough again. The beds were of course set much lower than they used to be but I still reared up and looked down on her. My sweet Delicate Miracle, head wrapped in bandages, a hoof too, lay still but breathing. “Del… please be okay...” my eyes closed and I felt the nurse push my back end up onto the bed too. Once more with my marefriend, sleep took me. A hoof rubbed my mane back, a yellow-furred hoof. “I can't remember your name, but I know you are my mare.” Her words shocked me, she couldn't remember my name but…. My worry must have shown because the hoof's friend reached around me and I was pulled into a tight hug. My own limbs returned the gesture, my tears flowed down to mark her fur with little clear rivulets. “You are Delicate. Delicate Miracle. I am… you named me Grace.” I told her, “do you remember anything?” I could feel her head shake. “They told me you dragged me here, your mouth looks sore...” Her cure for that, was perfect. Her lips met mine, I was blind from the tears but sight wasn't needed, only love. Pressing back, I felt her hooves get a little more interested, her touches lighting a fire in me that I feared I might not have again. “No, I don't care how relieved you two are no horsing around!” A nurse's bellow as she clopped into the room cut off our exploration and my tears cleared, a giggle coming from each of us. “Now, your friend has had a serious head trauma, she may not have any side eff-” I cut her off, “she cannot remember what happened, couldn't remember her name… her pony name.” The nurse seemed deflated, a slight nod from Del reinforcing my words. “Not the best of signs but, she is awake. That IS a good sign. Pony heads seem a bit harder than human ones, thankfully. I will tell the doctor you are awake, he is busy as you could guess. And then She will want to talk to you.” Her emphasis on the pronoun had me tilting my head. “Was she the one who called me?” I asked. “She will undoubtedly tell you why she called you.” The nurse turned, heading back out to the ward. My interest in this was broken by another nuzzle. “Grace, I… I hope I don't forget that next time but if I do,” Del nuzzled me again to make sure she had my attention, “remind me, like you are about to. I want to know everything, everything you did, everything I did.” I held back my urges to do more than nuzzle back. “Well, the first time we met, you were human. A cute guy,” I paused while she took that in, “you tried to run away from me, but I was faster than you.” Recounting our time together didn't take long, but the time was extended by repeated nuzzles and the occasional nuzzle. “So… I can use this thing?” she asked, eyes crossing as she looked up to her horn. “No,” a male voice says from the doorway, “not until you have had a day to rest at the least. Magic stresses the mind and your mind is stressed enough.” I half-rolled so that I was spooned against Del's belly. The unicorn stallion, wearing a coat over his back, looked very competent and I felt a slight twinge of possibility, but my mate's hooves around me reminded my traitorous body of what it really wanted. “No sex either, for either of you in fact. Your mouth is still recovering, although it seems to have bounced back quickly I don't wish you to… stress it.” Despite being a doctor, having that air of 'everything is clinical', I saw a blush. “Yes doctor!” I said, like a school kid to their teacher. It got a giggle from Del and a chuckle from the doctor. “Your friend loves you a lot miss.” He tells Del, stepping in, his horn lighting up. Del eeped a little but didn't squirm, clearly being inspected by the doctor. “Well, it seems to be healing, the nurse said you have some memory issues?” As always with doctors, it was half question half accusation. “Yeah, Grace was filling me in. I used to be a guy, how does that work?” I managed to witness the marvel of a unicorn shrugging. “Hell if I know, this is all arse about, I thought it was a virus at first, but while it seems to carry on body fluid contact, I haven't managed to narrow down how. At least I can keep practising. As for you, bed rest for a few days, I will check on you then to see how it is going. Hopefully that memory will come better.” His horn lit then, a pad floating from the pocket of his shirt, a pen too. I grinned, knowing the plan. “You can write things down, Del.” I got a squeeze for this, a nuzzle and a soft whisper in my ear. “I don't need to write things down, not with you beside me.” The softest of words, they filled me with strength and courage. If she trusted me this much, how could I possibly fail? “The nurse call button is up there. Just nose it if you need help with something. We are a little short-staffed right now, but as more recover we are getting better help. She is making sure we can keep our heads a bit more clear too.” The doctor gestured to the button to show it and gave us one more nod and left. “Well,” Del began, “they sure seem to have a queen somewhere. Can't say she sounds bad, but I worry when one person has power.” The observation matched mine. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Hopefully it was only a little corruption. We lay still, I let her keep me tucked against her belly like a big teddy bear, getting the occasional nibble on an ear. Her belly rumbled first, then mine just after. We both giggled at this and I was just moving to nose at the nurse button when a trolley rolled in, two bowls of porridge on it that smelled divine. The mare that followed them in, classically speaking, was the opposite. Black, from her nose to her rump, her mane was like a stormy night, boiling masses of grey and dark hair that trailed from her neck and head as well as her tail. Folded at her sides were a pair of bat-like wings and, as if she needed it to be imposing, a horn. “How are you feeling… Grace was it?” Her voice was strong, rather than deep. Still very feminine, but giving a sense that the owner was an order of magnitude larger than she seemed. But I recognised it. The one that had saved my Del. That had guided me, given me the direction I needed. The tears came easily, again. “Thank you!” I said, breaking down as a sense of weight lifted away, as if her presence gave command. Looking up at her through my tears I saw consternation and… love? “I felt your friend's pain, when she was hurt. I could feel her love for you, and your's for her. I had to do something. I am deeply sorry if I… made you do something.” She seemed worried. “You told Grace how to help me, I don't think she will be mad.” Delicate's words echoed my thoughts and it came to me. She isn't a goddess, a queen, or anything like that. She is just a pony. Giving Del a nuzzle I got up and on still-shaky legs passed the cart. The mare was big, physically big. I leaned up and gave her a nuzzle against that neck. She tensed a moment and relaxed, nuzzling back. “Thank you, I could never, ever take hurt at what you did. I couldn't think, you told me how to save the love of my life.” The mare relaxed more. The two bowls floated from the tray over to the bed and she, with me at her side, followed them. “I can command ponies, I can make them… do things.” Her head rested on the bed as I climbed back up. “I didn't want this, I can… I can even remember what I was like before. I worked in an office, I wrote programs, I lived on my own… I had a boyfriend who, I can't even feel him.” Looking to Delicate for a brief moment, we moved together. She was too big to hug on our own, but the two of us could get a hoof around each other and her. Too big to pull up onto the bed, we had to be content with just holding her, letting her know how much we appreciated her. Tears flowed from all three of us. For friends, for family, for people we barely knew who didn't deserve what happened to them, lost, alone. I am not sure how it really ended up happening, but with all the craziness, sleep reached out and grabbed us. My dream was odd. I saw a dark mare who I thought was Her, but even as I blinked in my dream I realised I was still snuggled with a big black wing over me. It was someone else. Someone who seemed to smile for a brief moment before she was gone. – Luna kept flicking through as many dreams as she could, pushing herself to try and help those people… ponies now mostly. Some she could help. Offering comforting dreams to pacify the odd presences that encourage their more aggressive behaviour and, where she could connect to a stronger influence, a few words of support. Author's Note David had a poke at me for typos, but I found a typo in his poke and so, find myself likely infected with them too. Maybe I will grow hoovez? New ponies (some very new) introduced, some action, but nothing affection and a good editor cannot help.
Shaking StepsAuthor's Note Please ignore this "update", I am testing API stuff on an old story. Shaking Steps The cries of alarm were what woke me. Cozy as it was, the three of us mares curled up like this, something was clearly wrong. A hospital was never, ever completely dark. Dim emergency lights flickered on but clearly were not up for more than stopping ponies bumping into each other. “Uh, miss?” I asked, gently shaking the big midnight mare. She and Del woke from the same stimulation, the latter looking a little confused until she spotted me. “Oh no, the power!” The big mare was instantly on her hooves and taking off out the door, her wings opening a little to help hasten her. Del looked at me a moment, tilting her head. “I am Grace, you are Delicate Miracle.” The words stirred a bigger smile to her face and she was moving, getting up to follow the mare. “Yeah, she runs this place and she might need our help, I will explain more on the way.” Helping each other off the bed, we both poked heads out into the dimly lit ward. A dark, black-on-black flank faded down to our left and we started to trot out only to hear a cry of alarm from our right. “Uh, um...” I deliberated but Del shook her head. “That sounded more urgent, lets go.” Trotting together, our flanks sometimes contacting lightly, we heard a stallion cursing enough to make a sailor swear and in the Australian accent he had, it just sounded twice as bad! “I need light damn-it, I could lose them!” Was about the only repeatable-in-fine-company thing he said and we headed in the direction of the voice. Through a door, we were in the observation room peeking into an operating theatre. On the table a pegasai with a mangled wing and more damage to their torso lay… in the dark. “Del you can… you can move things with your horn,” I started to explain, getting that cute cross-eyed look on Delicate's face, “can you… I don't know, rub the air together enough to make light, or something?” She looked at me now, eyes wide, tilting her head a little to the side. Her horn lit and, in the theatre, an instrument or two rattled before a light started to arc on one of them. Growing brighter and brighter, it soon illuminated the room with a bright flare. “Who the hell is… never-mind, raise that up above my head please, we might be able to save him!” The doctor's own horn lit up, lifting a clamp in, then grabbing other tools of his trade. After a few minutes, leaving the room in silence so as not to break Delicate's focus, I eventually rolled over a chair, positioning it just to the side of my marefriend. Understanding what I intended, she smiles and transferred herself to it, curling up to keep the room lit. The doctor worked, not knowing if the light would give out at any moment, but still he couldn't give up. “Okay, I have most of these bleeds stopped, I am going to sew him back up and hopefully his own body can handle the rest. Whoever you are with that light, please, just a few more minutes!” It was tense, the doctor working to leave neat sutures but not taking his time with them. Almost as soon as he set the needle down the theatre lights came back up, but not the room ones. Del slumped on the chair, a weary smile on her muzzle. Leaning in, I nuzzled and licked her cheeks, telling her in soft words how proud I was. “That was her?” the doctor asked, stepping out of the sterile theatre, “well, I would have liked her to spend a bit more time before using her magic, but after that show of resourcefulness, I will have to compromise and say thank you.” His hoof lifted, held out for Del. Who reached out with her own and bumped it. “You saved him?” her voice is soft, a little weary. Nodding, the doctor replies. “He will live. As long as I got all those bleeds… how did you make that light so bright?” Del, watching the doctor strip off the green plastic scrubs with a critical eye smiles more and nudges me. “Grace had the idea, well, kind of. I tried her plan, rubbing the air together. Wouldn't heat up enough. So I rubbed one of the knives.” Back in the theatre, said knife had since dropped into a basin, still glowing red hot. “Very clever. We can use clever ponies here. Bloody Mess.” He flicks his ears, waiting for a response. I guessed it was his name, but it was a bit macabre. “One of the nurses called me that. Said that the first thing I said after waking up with four legs was to yell and call everything a bloody mess. It stuck.” “I am Delicate, this is Grace. Pleased to meet you Bloody!” Del replied, offering a hoof to bump again, and getting it. “Another op next,” Bloody begins thinking out loud, “then I have some wards to visit. One of them contains a very pretty pair of mares, one of whom I hear is having memory problems. How is that coming, getting anything?” Del's head hangs, getting a snuggle from me of sympathy. “Nothing, kinda worse if anything. I can barely remember what happened yesterday it… it is like I know the big things, but all the details are trapped in a fog.” The stallion moved to the other side of her, shoring up her un-snuggled side. He looked to me though. “Grace? I have something very important for you to do. Don't leave her side, help be her memory.” I nodded to this, he could likely already see that we were very close. “Already on it!” I gave what I thought would be a passable salute and kissed Del's cheek. There was a crash at the doors and they flew open, the dark presence of Her entering. “Bloody! How did… Grace? Delicate?” her confusion at seeing the two of us here cleared quickly and I felt as much as heard her ask, “what happened?” We were still filling her in when the good doctor, having slipped out and begun his scrubbing for the next operation, entered the adjoining theatre and was beginning to prep again. A pony was wheeled in on a trolley. “Del, lets wait. We don't want Bloody Mess to be without light in case anything happens again.” My warning drew everyone's attention to the fact the doctor was about to begin. “What exactly happened… miss?” I asked, realising all at once that, for all I knew about Her, I did not know her name. “Star Shadow,” she replied, unable to stop a grin, “and it was the generator. Power died a few days back, we were running off the diesel for a while but it was never meant to be anything but a short term solution, a day of power at most.” “So… how do we have power? Is it fixed?” Delicate asked, looking to me. It was clear she wanted me to remember these things for her. I would have to try and take more stock of the world around me. “Fixed? Hardly. There is ten unicorns out there, two of them are patients. They are spinning the flywheel of the generator with their horns. Going to have to find more volunteers for it. Might even set up some kind of hamster wheel… will need to ask Nuts if that will work.” The solution had us both wide eyed, it was such an easy one, if likely hard work for the unicorns. We sat in silence, mostly, for the rest of the doctor's work. The pony in question had been rescued from a trap that someone had laid down. While it had been removed, so Star explained, it seemed that infection had set into the poor pony's leg. I was about to get righteous and angry when Del reached a hoof out, halting the burning anger I had for what a human would do. “Grace, they would have been defending themselves.” The words made sense, but why wouldn't the humans want to be ponies? It was silly! My marefriend of course saw this in my eyes and grinned. “I… I think I remember trying to get away from a particular mare once, much good it did me.” “You remembered!” I exclaimed but my happy dance was halted by her look and shaking head. “What?” “It is just a dim shadow. I wasn't even sure it was you until your response. You did make me a pony?” Her words carried no anger, no regret. I nosed her cheek and nodded. “I made you both pony and mare that day… hell, it feels like an aeon but it was only a few days ago.” My confession got a return nuzzle from her. Star, it seemed, was content to watch us and listen for now, the first big tragedy of the day already dealt with. Our nuzzling got a little more focused before I realised the big bat-pony had stiffened, a far-away look on her face. “Wha-” Del starts to say, I gently tap a hoof to her lips. We both, apparently, hear it at the same time. ~'do not attack them, herd them toward me'~ Her mental voice was not focused, although Star Shadow seemed to attempt to keep it from interrupting the doctor in the next room. ~'bring them, do not infect them'~ I realised then she was trying to keep ponies from attacking some humans and, if she were bringing them to the hospital, it meant they were wounded! A glance revealed that the doctor had finished with his grisly work, the pony's limb severed near their shoulder. Giving him a nod, I drew Delicate to follow. “Come on Del, lets head to… to the emergency entrance.” Leaving Star to do her mind-whammy thing, we headed out, following the signs down the hall until we were at a very strange sight indeed. Nurses, patients, other helpers like us, all in a wide circle around three humans! “Stay back!” One snarled, holding a baseball bat. I could feel Star in my head, trying to hold me back too but instead of fighting her, I relaxed and let her just keep that part of me from wanting to lash out. “Come in here!” I called. “Del, can you open the… good.” They seemed a little confused at first but got the idea and rushed through emergency and, with a startled nurse quickly moving back from them but pointing with a hoof, into an unoccupied room. I tried to follow them but Star's effect was keeping me from being able to go into that room, which was when I got surprised by Del trotting into their room. Star Shadow raced down the hall and, partially freed from her control I was able to peek into the room just as she did when she arrived. Delicate was in there, chatting away to them, one of the humans, a young woman, rubbing her ears! “Is she?” Star asked, her question trailing off. My jaw was down at least an inch. “She doesn't seem to want to infect them… I wonder if she even can? Did you do that?!” I asked, gathering my wits and getting a shrug and a head-shake from Star. A third head peeks in under ours, Bloody. “Looks like a shattered tibia. I hope Delicate doesn't mind blood, because all I want to do is go in and lick that better…” “Same,” I replied, “so what, you going to step her through what is needed?” He nodded at that. “How soon? If it takes too long to explain you might want to let her sleep and start fresh.” Of course, my plan was that we explain it all to Del but Bloody had other ideas. “I can't train her to be a doctor in a day. She will be my magic for me. Damned if I know how she can reach as far as she does, but she will have to be in the theatre and I will sit outside and try and keep from rushing in to infect them-” he was explaining but his almost-drawl got cut short by Star. “That I can help with. With just you to focus on, I should be able to keep your thoughts clear as I did for Grace here.” The big mare's words seemed right but I knew she was missing something. I nudged her to get her attention. “That… that took something on my end.” I explained, leaning into her bigger form. “I… I needed to let you into my head… all the way in.” The touch of her mind to mine came again, gentle, no force behind it like earlier. But once I had let her in, let her mind beyond the simple control-level that she could force, I could not take it back. “Oh...” Star said, looking surprised and quickly pulling, mentally, free. Grinning up to her I nudged her shoulder. “It's okay, I trust you.” But I was blushing. While it was true that the pony I had become carried little as far as secrets, there were private things that the big mare could likely peek at. Only barely catching what is going on, Bloody tilted his head. “You having me on? How did… scratch that, if you can at least stop me wanting to run in, that will do.” I let out a breath. I would need to talk with Star Shadow and Delicate Miracle, in a room, at the same time, about all this. But first, it seemed, we had a job to do! – Luna felt the pull at her dream, focusing in on the dream-that-isn't-a-dream that is one of the lesser ponies on that other world trying to influence others. A bright flash in the not-dream makes her smile. It is rare for two such to meet like that, rare and beautiful.
