I had been studied. Doing my job was a thing I just did, even if 'my job' was being a worrying test subject/patient. There was a blood pull and x-rays, but little more than that. I had returned to my room for some Cindy cuddles and eventually bed was a thing.

"The way I see it," spoke another me, floating with her head resting against her lion's paw. "We could just reshape the world the way we want it."

"We could," added another me, her head against her dragon's claw. "But then we'd be in charge of it all. Who needs that kind of responsibility?"

"Who said we have to watch it afterwards?" asked yet another me, dancing in place like she didn't care.

"Our friends seem faster on the uptick than we are," noted the first of my clones who floated right up to me. "We can do anything, and at least two of them are turned on by that idea."

The second was on me. I could smell their breath, which was surprisingly pleasant. "Some people like the idea of knowing there's something stupidly powerful out there, that actually cares about them."

The third poked me in the center of the chest. "When we were a girl, didn't we wish to god a lot? It's not that different, except--"

"Here she is," noted the first.

"In the fur," added the second.

"And she already said she likes you?" completed the second.

"Of course they're interested," all three spoke at once.

"Do I get a turn?" I asked, glancing from one of my faces to the next.

The first laughed. "Silly girl, of course you do."

"I am you," noted the second. "So you're getting a turn right now."

"We're just different thoughts." The third shrugged. "Speaking of that, this place looked nice." Suddenly we were inside the homey cottage. There was a confused yellow pegasus peering at us.

I threw up a hand. "Discord called dibs on this spot." And we were just as quickly not there, instead back in my house, which was mine! I had the deed and everything. "That's better."

The first inclined her head. "Speaking of that, you're not making money, how are we making the payments on this place?"

The second clapped her hands. As she separated her hands, piles of gold and jewels rained down. "We could just fix that."

The third broke into laughter. "Why do that when you could just check your bank account and add a few zeroes?"

"That'd leave a really obvious paper trail?" I objected, imagining how terribly that could go. "So would just showing up with pounds of gold and diamonds."

"Boring," all three of... me? complained at once.

"I'll handle it," I assured. "But, for now, maybe it's time to wake up?"

And I did.

Cindy was hugging me from behind, sniffly and miserable, but apparently happy to have a Lore-doll to hold. I flowed free of the grip, as if I was water instead of solid just long enough to reform in the air, looking him over. He had a horn atop his head, long fuzzy ears. He was becoming that unicorn. Well, a unicorn-man. He was covered in fur except his belly where it was still spreading towards.

He was well on his way. All white fur, except the blue hints around the mane and tail. A pretty pony, I decided. Well, handsome? Lots of guys got skeevy about being called pretty. I had a feeling Cindy wouldn't mind it much.

Ideas! I had them. I grabbed for my laptop and got it running.

Good morning!

How are you doing, Doctor Miller? I had an idea! I need something, you need something, we can both win. Namely, I know there are supply issues around the lab. Let me address those. All I want is simple, cash. I have mortgage payments to do. I have enough cash to float a month or two, but then, poof, my house goes from mostly paid off to not-mine way too fast.

So, the way I see it, why don't I help out around here, and you can pay me, and everyone wins. You need meat? I can get you meat. You know I can do it, you've seen me do it.

PS: Anything interesting from the poking and prodding?

I attached the usual morning report. I didn't have any physical changes to report. I was pretty sure I was done, physically, minus whatever I did to... myself? I was about to say that was new for me, but the old dream resurfaced. I had decided to be a lady-Discord instead of a guy-Discord. I gazed in a floating mirror that hadn't been there before. "I do like this look better." Not that guy-Discord was ugly, but she-Discord was better. I blew myself a kiss.

And I heard a little chuckle. Spinning in mid air, I saw Cindy watching me with a too-amused face. "G'morning, Lore," he greeted, starting to slip up to his feet. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than you," I stated obviously. "But doing alright. You?"

"I need to go to the bathroom but that's a morning thing." He scooted on past me towards relief.

"Look in the mirror," I called after him, "And do your morning report."

"She contacted me this morning with a proposition."

"She who must not be named?"

"Don't even start that," added a third person. I still couldn't see names. "Using her name or not doesn't seem to matter, so just use it. What did Lauren suggest?"

"She offered to enter the employ of the lab to assist in supplies," expanded Miller. I was pretty sure it was Miller. Who else would it be?

"Supplies? How can we trust her?" asked the second.

The third quickly typed, "Unlike you, she doesn't seem to hold a grudge. She also made her desire simple. She wants a job, to get paid. Is that right, Miller?"

"That appears to be correct. She has been nothing but fastidious about her work. I suggest we accept her offer. It will give her something to do and calm her down. She needs a little stability and I think she likes being needed."

Ugh, I was being psychoanalyzed. That he wasn't that far off was the worst part. I liked being useful!

Scaredy Scientist typed, "What are the odds she's watching this conversation?"

"Probably somewhere around the league of 80%. Does that scare you? ;)" added the third.

Miller began to type, his words appearing all at once. I couldn't see his words before he hit enter. "She could see our typing the other day, and her response was to apologize, not get angry. She is as dangerous as we make her."

I was being kissed. I blinked rapidly, coming back from nowhere land to see Cindy had hopped up on the bed and grabbed me and was holding my fuzzy cheeks as he planted a big one right on my lips, waking me up. "There you are," he called happily. "I finished my report. Why are you so anal about that?" He slid down to a seated position, fingers leaving me to float as I was.

"Good morning to you too." I drifted down after him, tail swaying behind me. When had I gotten so used to that? It even felt kinda nice to have that thing swishing around back there. "It's our job, silly as it is. They're trying to learn how this works. All we have to do is report what we can."

"Sneaky idea." He hiked a thumb at my laptop, which wasn't locked. I didn't even have a password set on it. "But clever. Think they'll go for it."

"I hope, and it's not sneaky!" I sat down next to him. "Hey, want to go out today? I know you're not feeling good, but making a few friends actually does help."

"Sure."

It was... that easy? "Good then! Let's get some breakfast. Hopefully Starlight or Flash will be roaming around to run into." I took his hand in one of mine and soon we were both standing. "I'm here, if you feel too blah. You just tell me, alright?"

"With you as my nurse, I'm set." He wrapped an arm around me and set his hand right on my far hip, drawing me close. I felt jealous a moment. It would have been really nice to have had someone willing and able to be close to like that when I was feeling miserable.

But I could at least do that, for him. I was like a parent trying to make sure their kid didn't have to go through the same nonsense they did. "Onwards, to food!"

And out we went. There was a Starlight, literally a few steps away from the door. I didn't buy it. "Did they tell you to be here?"

Starlight laughed nervously. "Maaaaybe?" she half-sang, grinning just as nervously. "Look, didn't I just tell you yesterday? I'm here for a reason." She tilted to the right, her whole body. "And you have someone with you. Hi there." She pointed to herself. "I'm Starlight. Starlight Glimmer. Nice to meet you."

"Your friend has the biggest breasts I've seen outside your old ones."

I started to turn red so quickly. "You did not just start the conversation with that!"

Starlight burst into laughter. "Oh, wow, hi... You are either a very cheeky person, deep in the ponid flu, or maybe both." She turned in place and began trotting towards the cafeteria. "Want to get something to eat?"

We started after her. Cindy leaned in to whisper, "Is she wearing a bra? Looks good on her."

I decided to not mention I had created them. "Are you that fascinated with what she has down there?"

"A little," he admitted. "Is she one of the ones you were considering? Because, if so, sure, she has my vote so far."

Good to see that part was easy... Why didn't I feel reassured?

There was a face! It was Jake, behind the counter, back at work. She smiled at us as we came closer. "Hey! Lauren, how are you? And who's your friend?"

She was a pretty orange-haired pony-woman. I didn't have to work that hard to see where Cindy was looking. "Or is it her?" he said not as quietly as I would have liked.

"I'm fine." I gestured to Cindy. "This is a friend of mine, Cindy, who's going through what you just went through. Cindy, this is Jake--"

"Carrot Top," once-Jake interrupted. "That's my new name. It fits." She gestured up to her bright hair and swayed her equally vibrant tail. "Nice to meet you both. They let me start a garden and everything, so we can get some real carrots going."

I had to smile at that. "That sounds entirely wholesome. Can I see it, the garden?"

Starlight waved from a table. "I'm over here. Come on over once you've ordered."

"Speaking of that." Carrot Top leaned forward, her arms going on the counter and her breasts resting on it as if it had been placed for that specific purpose. "What can I get you two?"

Thinking on it, Starlight really wasn't wrong. I didn't know Carrot Top. She was pretty enough as ladies went, but I didn't know them. I had helped them, but that was about it. "You still making those carrot omelettes? It's been a while since I had one of those."

"Carrot omelette?" echoed Cindy. "That sounds bizarre, and now I want one too."

"Two Carrot Top specials!" She twirled away and strode into the kitchen to get to work. "Go sit down. I'll bring it out."

We joined Starlight. I sat across from Cindy, with Starlight to my left. "So, good morning, but also, Cindy, this is Starlight. Starlight, Cindy. You are also the two I've talked to the other about."

Starlight looked at Cindy with a new sort of examination. "You're a little rough..."

"Sorry about that." Cindy reached for a tissue to blow their nose. "I do not feel right. Worst flu ever."

"Ah, yes, we've all been there." She looked towards me. "Isn't that right?"

"Too damn right." I tapped the top of the table lightly. "I do hope you two get along. I'd prefer my friends were also friends of each other. Besides, the whole floor is like a family, right?"

"I'll do my best," sang Starlight with a little smile. "Oh, speaking of that. You." She looked towards me. "You're coming at about the point that you'll get a new love for music."

"I like music already?"

"Nothing like a good bit of soul in the morning." Cindy nodded with certainty.

"More than that." Starlight rolled a hoof in the air. "You experienced it, briefly, once. Sometimes, we just hit the right note, and we gotta sing..." She raised a hoof to her chin, just under her mouth. "You get a little tickle, you gotta let it out. I can feel a little fickle, but there's no reason to pout," she sang out, her voice becoming so delightfully melodic. "But you just roll with it--"

"There's no fighting the spirit," joined Carrot Top from the kitchen, her voice clearly audible despite being around a corner.

"Because it's just what's right," concluded Starlight with a firm nod. "There, a little taste. You have about a week." She pointed at Cindy. "You're practically there." She pointed at me. "It's a pony thing. We sing."

"I'm not a pony," I pointed out, hiking a lion's thumb at myself. "Do I still do that?"

"So far as I know." Starlight shrugged lightly. "Everyone does. Dragons, griffons, ponies, whatever. Of all the symptoms, it's pretty harmless, but I figured I should give a warning."

"Expect music," mused Cindy. "Did you two practice that?" He waggled a furry finger between Starlight and the hidden Carrot Top.

"Breakfast's up!" There was Carrot Top, approaching with an energetic step and a platter across each arm. "I feel so much better! Not 100%. 90%?" She set down the trays in front of us, one for me and one for Cindy. "Enjoy."

"Eat up," bade Starlight. "Thanks, Carrot. Go on, we didn't practice that, promise."

I started in on carrot-eggy goodness. It was just as good as I remembered it. "You need to never get sick again."

"On it," she half-sang, moving back behind the counter.

"This is strange, but good." Cindy was getting food in their snout, but not entirely gracefully. "Which about sums up this entire experience. Strange... but good."

I wobbled a claw in the air. "Even the being locked up in a strange lab part?"

"I'm locked up with my Lore, oh no." He flashed a grin, eyes trailing to Starlight. "And meeting new friends. So, Starlight was it? Hi."

"Hi yourself," she returned. "How are you feeling?"

"Inside out a little." He got a fork almost entirely inside his snout that time. "But I also feel... strong? I'm a guy now, and a horse. A horseguy. I'm liking the power, hating the flu. What's up with this?" He reached out and tapped Starlight right on her horn. "I have one too."

Starlight burst into laughter. "So I see. This is a horn." She eyed a spoon that wasn't being used and it floated towards her, wrapped in the same glow that her horn was throwing off. "It lets me do things like this."

Cindy's hands came down, slapping the table. "Get out!"

I pointed up at my straighter horn of the two. "I have one too."

"We're the horny squad," he giggled, moving to get some more food off his plate. "Can you do magic too?"

Starlight suddenly snorted, looking away. "You don't know the half of it..."

"Your favorite color, it was Orange, right?" I asked Cindy, smiling at her.

"I love it, why?"

"Is that why they gave you an orange gown?" I waggled by eyebrows with a little smirk.

Now, Cindy had been wearing a nice normal blue gown like the rest of us. But it had gone bright orange, bright as Carrot Top's hair. He almost fell over with surprise. "What the hell was that?! Lore!" He leaned in towards me. "You're a wizard, Lore."

Starlight giggled, a hoof over her mouth. "Your friend, they may be alright. That reaction... Anyway, yes, that is Laura's special talent." She waggled the same hoof. "She can make what she wants, do what she wants..."

I really didn't like how Starlight was phrasing that. "Not anything... But most things, so far?" I awkwardly deferred. It sounded lame even to me. "I'm still Lauren."

"You are Lore with More, and that isn't bad." Cindy crossed his arms over his chest. "So when can I do things?" He raised his hands and wriggled them at his fork, probably trying to make it move, but it wasn't moving.

Starlight snickered at the attempt. "I'll show you how it works when it's finished growing in."

"Aw nuts, I have to be the only one without magic?" He rested his chin on his folded hands. "Lame. Lore, bedazzle me and cheer me up."

Both sets of eyes were on me. Make that three sets. Carrot Top was also watching from the counter. I was the star of the show, yay? "What do you want to see?"

Starlight held up her hooves. "Let's keep it simple and small. No targeting each other, to start."

"Narc," prodded Cindy. "What are you afraid of, her giving you a second head?"

Oh god, could I do that? I couldn't prove I couldn't do that. "Alright, not on anyone breathing... "

I heard myself say that again. I could see myself at an angle. A camera was watching me. Someone was watching the camera. Several someone's. "How does this not bother you?" asked a male voice.

"She is well socialized and in good temperament. All present want to be there." Was that Miller? I was fairly sure.

I shook away the voices and echo vision. "Why not something to show off we're all friends?" All three of those there physically looked interested, but said nothing, watching. I reached into my gow... I wasn't wearing a gown, but then I was. I hadn't been, but my will to reach into it had produced one. I hesitated a moment.

I was not used to it always working like that. Go with the flow... I let out a little breath and grabbed at an inside pocket, pulling out hats! One was purple with one big horn. "Who wants Starlight?" It had hair attached, giving an impression of her mane.

"Me!" called out Carrot Top. I sent the hat flying and she caught it with a happy laugh, popping it right on her head. "Now I'm a unicorn."

"Only fair." The next one I offered was Carrot Top. "Bouncy locks included. Who's the lucky pony?"

Cindy raised a hand just before reaching to claim it. "I always wondered if red heads had all the fun." On it went, though its feminine appearance of hair didn't quite match his well-cut masculine body. "How's it look?"

Starlight snickered softly. "Well, that means I get Lauren." She held out a hoof. "Let's see what two horns are like!" And I hung it on her hoof. She brought it back and wriggled her head into it. Her horn, like Cindy's, prodded from the inside, but the hat stretched around it, giving her what seemed to be three'sh horns. "It's breathtaking, admit it."

And I got Cindy, with one horn. My horns did not push up through the fabric, hiding to help the illusion of my only having one unicorn horn. "There, now we're all officially friends. We've gotten in each other's heads."

"That was harmless," noted Miller, sounding satisfied. "You were saying?"

"She's a loaded gun. Just because she hasn't hurt anyone yet doesn't mean she can't, and won't."

"What do you suggest then? She has no drive to harm others. Simply leaving her alone seems the wisest course of action."

"What do you do with a loaded gun?" asked the other voice. "You turn on the safety and you lock it."

"Lore?" Cindy reached across the table to tap me on the shoulder. "You're looking spacey again."

Starlight turned an ear away. "Are they watching you? I'm sorry..."

I forced a smile. "Now isn't the time to be stressed. We all have nice new hats." I reached up to pat mine lightly. "And you've all met my friend and didn't hate each other on sight, so that's nice. Let's do something fun."

Starlight wobbled a hoof at Cindy. "As much as I like fun, I think you need to meet another member of the floor first."

"Who's that?" he asked, moving to stand up, his food abandoned, though also mostly eaten. "Not too far, I hope. Still feeling wonky."

"Not too far. Lauren, can you guess who I mean?"

Only one person came to mind. "Our favorite french tailor?"

"Oui!" called out Starlight with a faked accent, trotting along to show the way. "This way. We'll get you fitted for a new wardrobe. You're looking mostly finished."

As we head off, I waved to Carrot Top, who was on duty and wouldn't be joining us. I thought back to the last thought of Starlight I heard. "Cindy isn't nearly as bad as I feared," I heard her think and immediately frowned. There had to be a way to adjust that. Maybe if I...

"God, why did I even bring that up?" What? "I'm glad she forgot about it..." Forgot about what?

"I'm a straight shot. Her friend's a fine slice, and she's a great person..." Oh god, why hadn't she just told me? "But she could be whatever she wanted! Ugh, I'm not thinking clearly. Can a boy pony's heat throw a mare off?" She was glancing over at Cindy, apparently trying to figure it out. "Ugh, I'm here to help them, both of them. Keep it in your pants, Starlight. They trust you to be an even hoof."

And there I was wondering a moment if boys had heats? I mean... was that even a thing? But wait, there was more important things on the table. I reached for her, floating over her as I tapped her on the mane. "Starlight, little question?"

"Hm? What's up?" She looked startled but focused up at me quickly. "Sorry, my turn to be a little distracted."

"I'll forgive you if you forgive me." I smiled uneasily at her. "So... Be honest, are you straight? I'll totally forgive you if you are! I mean, jeeze, we can still be friends, right?"

Starlight's cheeks lit up like christmas trees. "What brought that on! I mean..." She glanced off and back. "Oh god, she'll figure it out. I'm going to die of embarassment..." That one had been a thought, not spoken. "I didn't turn you away for being a girl, Lauren. You're just fine..." Her thoughts crashed and mixed with her speech, making it a bit of a chore to sift through, "But you could do so many things and ugh, Miller! I would have loved her without you telling me to! Why?!" She glanced at me, trying to face forward again. "She's watching me. Does she even know how hot she is?

"I'm hot?" I asked, realizing my own mistake a moment later. Starlight was gaping up at me, her eyes were so wide, her body was trembling.

And there was Cindy, looking lost at the exchange. "So you can swing both ways? That's cool, sister."

"You..." Starlight crashed to her haunches, a strained little laugh escaping her. "Of course. You're a god, a noodly god. May you have mercy on us..." She suddenly threw herself to the ground facing me. "Forgive this supplicant, for I have sinned."

I wasn't sure what to say. "Uh, Starlight... I'm not mad at you, but I'm very confused. Can we just... talk? Assume I'll handle whatever you want to tell me, and tell me everything."

Author's Note

What is with these endings? Is this a bad habit I should try to shake, or does it work?

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