"My hands! My feet!" Cindy crashed back against a wall, standing awkwardly against the wall.

"You're not going full pony," I reminded her in a soothing tone.

"I'm not?" Her hands suddenly sprang free of their hooven shells, the bone falling to the floor to be forgotten. "Oh yeah." As if reminding her was all it took. "Lore!" She suddenly hugged me. "How did you find me?"

"I'm dreaming, I think?" I tilted my head to the left before looking around. We were in another bedroom, similar to mine. "Or am I?"

"Only if I'm a dream." She snorted, grabbing for some tissues. "And I don't think I am."

Was it not a dream? "Cindy, are they hurting you?"

"They won't answer my questions, and they're keeping me away from you, or much of anything else." She sank against her bed. "And I'm changing..."

Of course she was changing. She was joining us, and I should be there, at her side, helping her... "I'm coming."

I woke up, if you could have called that a dream. "Enough." I was awake, not sniffly, and ready to act. I stormed for my door with a predatory gait. I was on fours as often as twos, practically flowing along the walls. Whatever I was, it was a sleek and magnificent body. Discord hadn't been lying. We were... pretty, when you got over all the strange parts. We were a predator that distracted the universe.

I threw open the door. Trick there being that the door normally opened inwards. Oops. I had already done it, I didn't worry about it, trusting it would fix itself sometime after I was gone and the universe noticed what I had done to it.

"Good morning!" There was Starlight, smiling at me so nervously.

"Morning." I reached out and patted her right on the head, the way she didn't want me to do unless I meant it. "You are a dear friend, but I have an older friend that needs my help right now. I promise I won't hurt a single person, but I am going to get her and bring her back."

Starlight recoiled at my words, backing out of reach. "Lauren, you're basically declaring war."

"Not a single person," I repeated. "I just want my friend, that's it. Tell Miller that."

She ran her tongue over the insides of her lips, glancing nervously around. "Lauren, you don't know how to do... all that yet. You could hurt yourself, or your friend. Please... Remember when I pulled you into the pool? That was an accident! What if you have an accident?"

"You're a unicorn." I held out a paw towards her. "I'm something worse." With a sharp snap, I felt the universe's attention sliding. I dashed while it was gaping at where I had made the noise. When it recovered, I was already by the elevator, mashing the call button.

Starlight blinked at where I wasn't anymore and turned in place. "Lore?"

The elevator hadn't arrived, not that it gave any hints as to what floor it was on by the time Starlight turned and saw me. "Lore!" She dashed towards me with a rapid clip-clop. "Please, stop it! You don't even know the password."

"There's a password?" That made sense, in hindsight. If anyone could just walk up to it, that wouldn't be very secure. "Well, won't be getting anywhere without that."

Starlight slowed in her approach, stopping just in front of me with a releived sigh. "Good, so let's--"

I casually reached out as if to pet her ear, but I went for what was just behind it. "Really, Starlight. Writing down your passwords?" I was holding a paper that likely hadn't been there a moment before. "That's a bad habit."

Starlight crashed to her haunches, eyes wide, scared. I felt suddenly bad. Starlight was a friend, I was like 90% sure of that. "I'll be back, promise. I'm just going to get my friend. Have a little faith in me."

Turning to the elevator, looking to the scrap, I saw the 'password' was more of a combination. You had to press a few buttons at the same time, then jab the call button. Easy! Poor earth ponies, it must be quite hard for them to figure it out even if they were told what to do. But I had fingers! The button lit up! It was on the way!

"They're going to be really mad," whispered Starlight, sounding so very shaken. "They may hurt you... It's not too late. Let's go back to your room, relax, talk?"

I brought around my tail and tickled under her chin with its fluffy tip. "You wait here. I'll be right back." I wouldn't be dissuaded, not until I had my Cindy back.

Elsewhere, Miller scowled at what he saw. There were plenty of cameras, and some of them were watching me and Starlight. "This is going about as poorly as predicted." He turned in place, swiveling his chair as he clicked quickly with his mouse. "You're about to get a visitor."

"Visitor?" came a familiar voice. "Nothing on the schedule for today."

"Type ED is on her way to your floor," explained Miller. "She has the elevator key."

"Where are your guards?" the other chastised.

"She hasn't caused any issues on this floor," replied Miller simply. "I will not engage her. She has done everything I asked and remains a good subj--"

I reached up, pointing at the camera watching me, piercing it, jabbing him right in the chest with a dragon's claw. "I'm a patient, not a subject," I snarled through the camera. "And you got that right. I'm going up to bother your friend and get mine back."

Starlight scrambled backwards. "What in the name of Celestia was that?!" She had one hoof raised, shaking but pointing at the camera I had just been shoving my arm through a moment ago. "What did you do?!"

"Miller's watching us." A soft chime sounded as the elevator opened. "You be a good pony." And in I went, slipping inside with a sudden rush and twirling in place, smashing the 4 button with my tail. Starlight looked so unsure, making a scramble towards me, but it was too late. The doors closed on her.

I could feel the elevator moving around me. The thought tickled at me. Why was I using an elevator? I didn't technically need it... But I wasn't reality itself. I tricked it. I fooled it. Who's to say if I didn't do it too often and too constantly, it wouldn't catch on? Better to do things the old-fashioned way sometimes, just to keep it on its toes.

A soft chime announced our arrival. I was out the moment the door began to open, flowing between the still-too-close panels and slinking out. There were no ponies in sight. No staff either. Had the warning of my coming sent them scurrying?

I slid around the corner, my body conforming to it like water for the instant I went around it, springing upright the moment I was past it. Bright red lights were strobing and a strange omnipresent alarm was making an electronic noise that wasn't really a siren, but was clearly an alarm of some kind. Despite it, I felt no particular worry.

With a low clop-clop, I walked forward, each step different in my ears. One hoof was cloven, the other the clack of sharp claws. One was thicker and had a dewclaw, and the other did not. I was no longer much good at matching left to right across my body. Even my eyes were different colors, though considering how many other things didn't match, it was perhaps a mercy that it followed the trend.

Despite all the mismatches, my gait was easy. I was balanced, smooth even. "Now where is everycreature hiding?" I called out, my tongue curling a little as a little smirk appeared on my face. "The hiding part of hide and seek can only last so long. I will find you."

The clean halls of the medical facility offered little cover to my sweeping gaze, but there were--oh, no, there was someone, several someone's. Another elevator door chimed with a simple beep before sliding open, revealing three men in full body armor. Two of them had billy clubs, the third had a gun. A stun gun?

They saw me, not like I was hiding from them. "Return to your room," shouted one of them as they spilled out of the elevator in a hurry, fanning out as if to surround me.

"I'm in the middle of playtime," I casually dismissed, my red scaled tail flicking behind me. It was still odd at times to think I had one of those, but, in perspective, it was perhaps the least odd thing about it all. "You can try asking a lady more politely than shouting at her like that. You're sending a bad message."

The one with the gun raised it and fired with barely a pause between. A loud pop echoed in the hard-walled area we were in and the barbs were flung at me with almost sonic speed. I grabbed them, but they weren't barbs, they were ropes. I pulled sharply and they fell from confused fingers as I laughed. "Now where are you hiding Cindy?"

The two with clubs advanced with determination. What did guards of secret medical facilities make? Probably not enough to have to deal with my flavor of nonsense. I almost felt bad for them, almost. That faded when they began to swing at me. "Hey, morons," I scorned as I bobbed and weaved back away from them. "This isn't a movie. You crack someone with one of those, you could really hurt them."

Perhaps play time was over.

I grabbed the wall and scrambled upwards away from them, digging in with claws and leaving little holes behind. They were shouting and looking for some way to reach me when my snap echoed out. I fell down as the universe recoiled and grabbed one of the security guards.

I was about to give him a taste of pony, but I saw he was married, even had a kid. I shoved him instead, sending him home to both of them. The universe caught up, the other guard getting out a muffled scream through his hazmat suit. In his eyes, I had snapped, then suddenly been right next to him, and his friend was just gone.

I reached for him, but he was faster. Pain exploded through my right arm as he smashed me with his club. Tears welled up. That hadn't been a light hit. Did he break something? He wasn't pausing. I had panicked him, and he smashed my startled chest. I felt something break, on the inside. Breathing was suddenly hard.

I had messed up. I snapped, or tried. Pain and staggering ruined the motion as he came on me, cracking my left shoulder smartly. An angry bruise began to form almost instantly. "Stop!" I shouted out, blood splattering the front of his visor. My blood? Shit, I was bleeding on the inside. That was bad. It was all bad.

He raised a big booted foot and just... kicked me. It was damnably effective, sending me sliding along the door. One benefit of being all nice and soft and pettable, I could slide along smooth floors pretty darn well. Though it hurt where he had just slammed his foot into me, I was thankful for the distance he had just made. I grabbed my broken arm with the other hand, ignoring the throbbing shoulder as I pulled it.

Fresh pain exploded through me, blinding my vision a moment, but I could feel it working. I had yanked the bone straight. It was set. Tears were streaming down my face. This wasn't fun. This wasn't a game. I could pull myself back together, but it hurt to do, and I had plenty of other injuries to see to. "Your friend's alright," I got out, scrambling to my feet in time to see him bringing his club down.

I slipped, the club whooshing inches from my face. I leaned into the momentum, sliding right under him and popping up behind him, scrambling away.

Suddenly I was crashed into. The second guard, the one that had been holding a stun gun, tackled me. We both tumbled to the ground in a heap. He was trying to hold me tightly, which made my insides scream in agony. There were broken things in there, damn it all! "Stop it!"

"Lay down," ordered the guard hugging me. "Stop resisting and I'll let go."

That... was an option I was willing to try. I went slack in his grip, flopping bonelessly against the floor. I could hear the other guard, the one with the club, stomping closer.

The one holding me slowly released me, likely feeling for me trying to make a move. "Where's Howard?"

"Howard?" Oh, right, the one I shoved. "He's home. Surprised, probably, but should be alright." An urge to cough came over me, blood speckling the ground near my snout. "I'm... going to take a deep breath."

A club prodded me, right on my angry bruise. "You ain't doin' nothin'," ordered the club-wielding guard.

"Noclip!" Suddenly I fell through the floor. I couldn't see them. I couldn't see myself. I was _in_ the floor. I also couldn't breathe, but holding my breathe was way better than fearing the next swing of that club. I grabbed my sore shoulder, wincing and sniffling as I wrenched it back into place. My insides were still knocked loose. How to fix that...

I flapped my stupidly small wings and wriggled my tail, swimming through the cement of the floor, away from the guards. Where was Cindy?

"Subject contact lost," barked the guard who had been holding a stun gun into a walkie talkie. "Went right through the floor."

"You're the one that gave her a chance," barked the club-wielder. "We should have kept hitting her."

"We're not here to kill people, shit." The gun-wielder shoved the other as he turned away. "She said Howard was sent home. Can you confirm?"

"He called," came the reply over the walkie talkie. "That's exactly where he was, and heading back to the lab."

I tried to shake the vision and sounds of the guards. The other one was safe, good. I didn't want to hurt him. The club guy, though... I could still feel the smashes he'd delivered. He...

I came up for air, gasping loudly as I emerged in what looked to be a kitchen. I pulled myself free of the floor and shook myself out, standing normally, the cheat apparently disabling itself the moment I was free. But... Discord floated, didn't he? I had dreamed of floating.

Maybe noclipping was just a thing I could do? "Noclip," I whispered to myself and I drifted upwards. I laughed, or tried. My insides screamed in agony and I ended up coughing up unfun red stuff instead. "Okay, okay..." How to fix myself. My arms were simple enough to just force back into position. Oh, right!

I took a deep breath. Agony rippled through me as I forced bones where they shouldn't be and exasperated cuts on my insides, but it was working. I could feel things shifting back into their proper positions. I just had to... hold it. With a great whoosh, I let the air out. The pain began to ebb. I was fixed...

"They're making this too dangerous." I opened a freezer and casually pulled out a padded helmet, popping it on my head. It had holes for my horns and fit properly. A vest came out next, slipping into its chilly but protective grasp. "Alright, maybe less broken bones now." What did they wear to protect arms? I didn't know. And not knowing would hurt me. I couldn't make things happen that I couldn't imagine.

I had to laugh. "The only limit is your imagination? That's scary..." I had a lot to figure through, but I needed to find Cindy.

Footsteps were coming closer, quickly. Nice heavy bootfalls. They knew where I was. There were cameras, of course. I could see someone watching me. Someone I didn't like.

Wait. I turned towards the closest camera with a wicked smile. "Didn't Miller tell you?" I suppose he hadn't, or maybe the other guy hadn't listened. Both were possibly. "Either way."

A different doctor was watching the situation unfolding. "Miller, I will be charging your floor for the damages she causes."

"That would be rude." Suddenly a snout burst through his monitor, the rest of her long form coming out after it, armored and smiling. "You're the one that made this whole mess. Also, turn on a light, it's too damn dark in here." That was me, of course. I snapped sharply, the lights of the room turning up to full brightness.

This doctor was... round. He was round like I used to be. He even had breasts like I used to. I would have called him cute, if he hadn't also been the cause of my frustration for the last day or so. His glasses fell off his face as he awkwardly stood up, his chair falling behind him. He was Caucasian, unlike little Filipino-me, but it somehow still reminded me of me, the old me.

It was like a twisted mirror. What if I had been a guy, and also white, and also a scientist, and also a jerk. That was a lot of alsos. Maybe he wasn't all that much like me. "Just tell me where Cindy is and I'll stop bothering you and your guards." I felt my ears swiveling around. "Speaking of that, are there cameras in here too?"

He needn't have answered. Thinking about it let me feel it. Someone else was watching me. I ignored them. "I won't hurt you, just tell me where Cindy is."

"You can't just--"

"Don't tell me I can't do what I just did." I rolled my mismatched eyes, crossing my arms under my chest. "Now point me in a direction so we can both have a better day."

"Lauren?" Miller's voice emerged from the monitor. He was still connected, and could see my butt. Lech. "Please return to this floor."

I looked over my shoulder. There he was, on the screen in a little web-cam window. "Hey, Millie." I wriggled a few fingers at him. "I'll be right back as soon as I have Cindy."

"I told you this was ill-advised."

"Be quiet," snapped the other doctor, glaring at the screen, then at me. "As for you, get out of my office!"

"You are very much not in a position to order me." I leaned forward, floating in the air. "I have a doctor." I hiked a thumb at the image of Miller. "He's a jerk too, but less of one than you. I'll go back to him as soon as I have Cindy. Do I need to use smaller words for you?" This was a simple concept! What wasn't he getting?

A thought suddenly hit me. "What is your name?"

"You don't need to know that," he snarled. "Security's already on the--"

I grabbed his fat cheeks between my hands, my eyes swirling as I gazed into his. I was looking not at him, but past him. "I see a mare, nice and round, just like you. You're a shitty human. Maybe you could be a nice pony."

He began to tremble. For all his bravado, I think he was starting to understand just how much of a threat I was to his state of being. "N-no, don't!"

"The next word out of your mouth is how to get to Cindy, or a loud distressed neigh. Your choice. One word. Make it count." I leaned in, touching my fuzzy snout to his little pudgy nose. "Make it good."

"Laura," spoke Miller, still on the screen. "You understand this makes you quite the security risk."

I flashed my teeth for a hot moment. "Too late for that. I have simple wants. Cindy." I turned my attention fully back on the quivering fat scientist in my hands, waiting for his potentially last words as a human.

A shaking finger raised, pointing the way. "At the end of the hallway. First left, second right, third left."

"Easy as one two three," I sang out, releasing him in a shove that sent him sprawling. "No hooves for you today. Pity, you would have been adorable." I left him there to get up on his own speed, darting to the door and shoving my head through it.

There was a guard approaching, a stun gun already in hand. I wrenched my head back with a frown. "Time to cheat." I ducked out of the room, sideways, right into the next room. I burst into the hallway behind the guard, grinning as I swam through the air. He charged right past me, banging on the doctor's door, unaware of how close he had come to me.

First left, second right. I was darting and bobbing along from cover to cover, but I knew they could see me. They were watching me advance through the lab. "Cindy!" Poor Cindy was likely feeling like hell. I had shaken off the sickness myself, but she didn't have that. She was probably in bed, feeling awful. "I'm comin'!"

I grabbed her door, third on the right, and pulled down the handle. Locked. I reached into the layers of my fur. "Where did I leave..." There it was. I pulled free a keycard. It wasn't my keycard, though it looked much the same. I slid it in. Click. "Cindy!" I wrenched the door open and flew into the room, the door closing behind me.

"Lore?"

I flowed around the corner, tail twitching. There she/he was, sitting up on their bed, eyes only partially open like they were just waking up. "Lore?!" They reached and flopped. "How'd you get here?"

I was on them in a flash, my hands cradling the one of theirs closest to me. "That is complicated, but I am here, and I'm going to take you down to my floor. Does that sound good?" Nasty scientists got threats, my friend would not. I wouldn't do anything without her go-ahead.

"You'll keep me safe?" They sounded so small, so scared.

I grabbed them up, hugging them close. "Oh Celestia yes!" I turned in the air, drifting back towards the door. "You heard that. She wants to go with me. I'm taking her back now. Let me go and this is over. Turn off that stupid alarm!" It was still going, flashing red outside the door as we floated back outside. "It's not helping anyone."

"About that."

I perked an ear at Cindy. "Huh? What, you like the alarm?" I was floating towards the elevator, eager to get 'home'.

"Not that... You called me a 'her', but I'm a 'he' now, I think..."

I came to a halt in the air, blinking with confusion. "Seriously?"

"You saw it, you felt it," he noted. "Guy... That's not the end of the world, is it? I get to go standing up now."

My cheeks warmed at the thought. "You're still Cindy though, right?"

"I think so." He raised a hand into view, fur swept up over it, along his arm. It was bright white in color. "I'm failing at being a human woman though. Are you alright with it?"

I wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that one way or the other. "Right now, let's get home." There was the elevator, and not a sign of a guard so far. Maybe they'd listened. I pressed the secret combination.

The door didn't open, nor did the light come on. I scowled at it.

"You don't have all the power," came a voice through the intercom of the call button. "You will need to be punished."

"Bite me," I replied with the utmost of eloquence. "Right on my furry butt."

"Return to your room and do not leave," ordered the voice. It wasn't the scientist I just scared, or Miller.

"I planned to do that anyway," I grunted, annoyed. "Talk to Miller. I only have the bandwidth to deal with one manipulative mad scientist at a time."

The elevator door suddenly opened without a chime. I was free to go, for the moment.

I took Cindy home, guy or girl.

Author's Note

Well, that chapter had a lot going on. How'd I do on the action? Action scenes always make me nervous! The noodle awakens.

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