For a while, all we could do was to stare in awe at the human-suddenly-turned-pegasus, who himself had a look of horror written on his face.

“That… was… painful!” he finally managed to wheeze before taking a look at his new hooves. The reaction was instantaneous. In a blind panic, he pedalled with all fours but only ended up falling on his back. “What the fuck?!” His new grey coat had a brighter pattern, probably from his clothes, and his mane ended just above the neck, still looking very human-like.

“We apologize. We had forgotten to sedate thee…” Luna held a hoof to her chin, considering the outcome. For this kind of conversion, you had to have considerable knowledge of the targeted body’s anatomy, contrary to regular transformations. Turning someone or something into a pony was an easy task for her, but the reverse process was a different matter in that she didn’t have the necessary information to do so. However, the effect would only last for perhaps twenty four hours unless one kept refreshing the spell.

“Still, as we can see, you have survived the ordeal fairly well.” She nodded and headed down the stairs. “We’ll be waiting for thee at the sickbay.” I went over to Julian and looked down at the distraught being at my feet.

“Yo, buddy, still alive?” I just couldn’t resist as I grinned like Luna had done before.

“You knew this would happen, didn’t you?” he asked. I could only nod. After all, I had seen Luna perform the spell on Dirk as well. I had tried to learn it but without success. The newly transformed pegasus began to lift himself and scan his new body. Hooves, legs, wings— It was right then and there one could see his mind connecting the dots. In a moment, he had spread his wings and was off the ground. If I hadn’t known that it was the spell that even allowed him to stand upright, I would have probably been envious. I had to learn everything from the start, and this bastard had gotten himself a shortcut. “This is awesome!” he screamed while diving over our heads.

“You think that’s good? Wait until you see me fly!” And with that, Rainbow shot into the sky, taking pursuit of our newest member to the surprise of no one. Faster than we could follow, she overtook him and was now flying backwards in front of him. “I think you should take a few lessons,” she tried to goad and shot away to the clouds. What she didn’t know was that Julian had a pilot's license. Even though it was only for gliders, it was still more than I or any of our friends could claim. He had invited me many times to come flying with him, but for obvious reasons I had always declined.

“Oh, this is so exciting! First I get to know three humans who love muffins and then one becomes a pony and I can get to know him again! Does he like muffins? I need to throw a party….” None of us knew how Pinkie had escaped Twilight’s spell, but she was now blowing up three balloons with an old air pump.

“I’ll go check my brother.” I looked over to our guests and the others. “We’ll meet tomorrow at the clinic to begin the work that needs to be done.”

“I agree. There isn’t much daylight left, and I need to explain everything to the rest of the group,” Henry concurred. “What’s going to happen with Julian?” He pointed at the two small dots in the sky.

“We’ll take care of him,” Twilight assured. “Princess Luna’s spell is only temporary, and he will be back to his old self by tomorrow.” I saw the relief in his eyes as he bade goodbye and began to walk home. Hawk and Star were ordered by Shining Armor to do a quick scan around the clinic before he himself disappeared in the conference room. I was getting curious on what he was doing there all the time. However, I didn’t have the time to check, and so I just followed Twilight down to the sick bay.

***

Oh… There you are.” Twilight and I were greeted by Fluttershy as we entered the small room. We had run into Cadance on her way to Shining Armor. She had wanted to discuss something about the foals, and Luna preferred to wait outside. I had seen AJ in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

“How does it look?” was my first question as I looked at the sleeping earth pony. Dirk had a dark green coat, and his mane was brown and way too long for his now considerably smaller frame. He had been just as tall as I as a human, but now he would only reach up to my neck. The eleven years between us were easy to spot.

“He was awake for just a moment but then he fell back asleep. I don’t think he knows what's going on,” Fluttershy explained as she wrung a towel. My brother was sweating profusely, probably a side effect of the transformation, and the heavy blanket in combination with his coat didn’t made things easier.

“Let me do it.” I took the bowl of water and the towel from her and began to wipe my brother’s face, much easier to do with magic than bare hooves, I reckoned. It might also be much better for him as I had to rub the fur to properly clean it.

Just as I washed the cloth in the bowl, I noticed something moved under the blanket. A hoof rose up and found the way to its attached head. He groaned before opening his eyes. His look wandered first from me, around the room, before settling on the blanket, more precisely the hooves below. I knew I had to do something before he got another shock.

“Hey!” I pushed my head into his line of sight while trying to raise his head with a hoof.

“What’s going on?” he asked, tiredness evident in his voice as he tried to push me away. Dirk had always been keen on keeping personal space, both from his brothers and our mother.

“You were knocked out for a few days from to the shock and medicine. We brought you on board of the Celestia, our ship.” Just as the name was mentioned, his head shot straight up and scanned the wooden wall that contained the porthole. He nodded as he seemed to understand. “However, you were too big to fit inside, so Luna had to.... adjust you.” Once more, he began to look at his forehooves. “Don’t worry,” I added quickly, “it’s only a temporary spell. If we don’t renew it, you’ll change back after a night of sleep.”

“Okay,” was his only answer as he sunk back into the bed, his expression unreadable. I gave my companions a helpless look but no one had any idea of what to do.

“Maybe… he’s hungry?” Fluttershy asked, aiming more at him rather than me. A small shake of his head was the answer, and with that she trotted over to the door. “I’ll be back…” Before she could open the door, AJ entered with a tray on her back loaded with all kinds of goodies.

“Sorry, sugarcube,” she apologised as she squeezed past the yellow pegasus. “I thought our guest might be hungry. She had a hay sandwich on a plate with different kinds of flowers. Something usual for me, less so for my little brother, if his surprised face was anything to go by. AJ put the tray down on the bed and even pulled out an apple from under her hat. “If you want something more fruity.” Dirk instantly tried to grab that apple, but with only a single hoof, it was not going to work. I was about to help him, but thinking quickly, he used his second hoof and began to munch away on the fruit. I thought about telling him that an apple would easily fit inside a pony’s mouth, but I left it at a slight grin, knowing that my brother was alive and well.

“Erm…” Twilight cleared her throat, giving me the signal that someone else was also present. I waited until Dirk had annihilated the apple before I began to introduce Twilight and Fluttershy...

“…And that's my girlfriend Applejack,” I finished. That bit of news was a bit too much for him, if the pieces of apple that hit my cheek were any indication.

“You have a problem with that?” AJ misunderstood my brother’s reaction and began to pester him.

“No, just surprised,” was his answer in his usual monotone. She stepped back a notch, slowly calming down.

“Is your brother always like that?” That was a no-brainer

“Mostly. He’s a guy of few words… except if he loses a game of League of Legends. Then he can curse like a master of the art.” He gave me an angry look, though the others were just confused. “That’s a game where you play against others. Only one team can win, and your bad luck can extend to your teammates if they aren’t great at it.”

“Then he should watch his mouth while he is here, sugarcube. I don’t want my sister and the other foals to learn any of his swears.” With a look, I delivered the message.

“Foals?” It took him a moment to understand the terminology. “You have children here?”

“My son and his friends snuck aboard,” Twilight explained. “Next week we will send them back.” Speaking of the Crusaders, where had they gone now? Except for Dawn, I hadn’t seen any of them.

“Until then, you better watch your tongue—” I stepped in front of AJ and turned to my brother.

“What my girlfriend wants to say is to please show your better side. And AJ, he’s my brother, so please give him some leeway. He’s been through a lot lately.” And I hadn’t even told him of our father, but Dirk was no idiot. He had figured it out by now. It was still something different to be told to your face. AJ only nodded.

“I’m sorry there, Dirk. I’m kinda stressed right now. Must be from the pregnancy…” Now that was another bomb I wanted to drop on him at a later date, once he had gotten used to everything. This time it was he who grinned.

“Someone was—” He got cut off when I pulled back the blanket and the cold air caressed his boy bits. With look of utter shock on his face, he realised what it meant to be “naturally clad”, and both forehooves shot down to cover his genitals. Of course, except for him, no one else was bothered by this. In this regard, Equestria was the world turned on its head. Clothing was considered to be more suggestive than being naked all the time. It vexed me that I hadn’t stayed on deck to watch Julian's reaction to that little detail. Once he thought that no one was looking, Dirk pulled the blanket back on him up to his neck.

“I think you should get some rest now,” I said to him as Fluttershy nodded. “We’ll check in after dinner, and I’ll introduce you to the rest of the crew.” His answer came in from of a grumpy gaze, his usual reaction whenever he was irritated. It wasn’t much more different in pony form. He blew his mane out of his face as one after another we left to room to give him some privacy and so he could process the day's events. I was the last to leave the room, and when I closed the door, two pegasi joined us.

“You’re not bad for a newbie,” Rainbow praised Julian, who seemed rather excited, as if he had two cups of coffee too much.

“I’m a pilot but this felt different... So... real!” He beaming with joy and somehow I was happy for him. This must have been his happiest moment in a long time. “The wind under my wings, it’s.... I can’t describe it!”

“Good to see you liking it, Julian. Do tell, have you noticed something else as well?” He scanned over his body, even looking behind him, seeming oblivious.

“Not that I can tell. It’s weird to walk on four legs, but still feels as if I just had two.” His gaze wandered over to the orange mare by my side. “Hey, I know you…”

“Is this Julian?” AJ asked in horror, and I nodded.

“Luna just had him—” I was cut off when she suddenly turned around on the spot. “Seems she forgot to—” She cut me off again when she planted her forelegs on the ground, and I realized what was going to happen. Within seconds, she had angled her rear legs, and with the force of a jackhammer, her hooves connected with Julian's chest. Rainbow managed to jump aside at the last moment as Julian was sent flying through the hall. Just before impact, a purple pillow appeared out of nowhere and mitigated the fall, if barely.

“T-Thanks, Twilight….” I stuttered as I headed to help my friend. Admittedly, he deserved to be punished for attacking us, but a buck from Applejack was like being shot with a shotgun set right on your body. And even those blanks could cause bruises and broken ribs, things you’d have fun with for a while. For the second time in the day, he lay on the ground and writhed in pain, reminding me of my first day as a pony.

“Ohhhhh... man... Was that a steamroller?” He managed to groan while trying to stand up again. That of course failed, and he landed on the floor again. “Damn it! What was that for?”

“That’s for you vermin trying to eat us,” AJ answered coolly and disappeared down the hall in our room, the door closing with a bang.

“I think...she is right, you know....” I helped him back on his legs. “I mean, you wouldn’t like it as well if your girlfriend and your sister were considered food.” He held himself up by putting a foreleg around my neck and gave me a weak smile.

“Score for you...But you know what's really weird?” I could only shrug. “You’re larger than me.” A weak laugh followed his sentence as I escorted him down to one of the empty rooms one floor lower. “You really need to tell me what I’ve missed.” He groaned when I put him down on the free bed. I was getting tired of doing that, so I gave him the summarized version. The body switch with Changer, arriving to Equestria, and my thoughts about having to start a new life there. How I wanted to say my goodbyes, how I found out about the shades, and Changer’s letter that finally explained his reasons for the body swap. Before that, we had thought that I had been transformed. Then I told him about the thing with the changelings and Nightmare who I had reduced to being a travelling companion.

“And now we are here. Thanks to me, Robin, and the people in your camp, the Nightmare is on the run, and we are aiming to hunt it down. With all that, I found my dad....” Both Julian’s and my gaze darkened when I mentioned him. Finding someone these days had become a bad sign.

“Did you tell Dirk?” I was considering if I should ever tell him about that.

“No, and I’m not intending to do so any time soon. He’s still processing that his brother isn’t dead even though his body is slowly decaying somewhere on Earth while he himself is now a pony. I need to keep an eye on him.” Sudden distraction came by a hoof being laid around my neck.

“I’m so sorry. It must be really hard to come home and find your father like that… I… I....” Fluttershy must have followed us, probably due to Julian's injury. She must have heard everything we’d talked about, something I wanted to prevent. No one should’ve learned about that, probably because everyone thought that I wasn’t so stable after all. But what should I expect them to think anyway? Home world devastated. Friends and family either dead or missing. My best friend got his soul ripped out in front of my eyes and his body was now possessed by a being of pure evil. It was Fluttershy’s hug that summarized all this in my head.

“Hey, it will work out in the end. What I know from Dirk is that your mom and Granny took a plane to Munich. One of the last standing army bases is still there. We might find them there,” Julian tried to support me as I realised that the first tears were leaking from in the corners of my eyes. I got rid of them with a swipe from my foreleg.

“Thanks, both of you, but we will have time for that later.” Gently, I pushed Fluttershy away from me and made some room for her so she could check on Julian. “You better check his ribs. I think some of them might be cracked.” She also brushed the tears away. Her cheeks were slightly red and her coat was wet. She must have been listening for a while.

“Did I hear right? Girlfriend and sister?” Of course, the things I wanted to keep to myself were the things everyone asked about.

“Well, yeah. Changer had a sister named Trixie. Since I’m practically him, this counterpart thing, she’s now also my sister. She was devastated when she came with a picture of me in the newspaper. We both had hit rock bottom and kind of understand each other. And Applejack, the one you can thank for the beating.” With that, I put a hoof on the point of impact to make him wince, much to Fluttershy’s disapproval as she smacked me on the foreleg. “She is my girlfriend, or rather marefriend. She is also pregnant with our foal.” Julian choked on that, and Fluttershy backed off a step.

“Foal?” He rasped. “As in… you’re becoming a father?” I only nodded to that, as did Fluttershy.

“I’m still very happy for both of you,” she explained while beginning to rub the bruised area on Julian's chest with a similar salve that Cadance had used on me.

“‘Gratulations man.... To be honest, I’m kind of amazed.” I could only give him a weird look as I couldn’t really fathom what he’d meant. AJ and I had been in a relationship for a good three months by now and had talked about having a child. Not in the near future, but it was an open topic. “Please don’t get me wrong. I’m really happy for you. It’s just that there hasn’t been good news like that in a long time now.” Once more I could only nod. After all that shit they’d been through, this was a small light hanging in the darkness.

“So, this should help.” Fluttershy finished her treatment and stored the medicine away in her little bag. “If you don’t mind… I’d come and take a look at it again tomorrow morning.” Julian nodded in agreement, and the pegasus left the cabin.

“Maybe I should have checked that show out after all, huh?” I could only laugh at that.

“I have, and it brought me nothing more than trouble. These aren’t the same ponies as in the show.” I also went for the door and waited for my friend. “Come on now! Dinner should be ready soon.” I was gleefully looking forward to his face the moment he’d get hay on his plate.

Author's Note

Translated by LtCWest
Edited by JBL