"We are gathered here to discuss what we will do when we get out." Bon Bon nodded at her group, its purpose tilted with time a bit. "Which the director insists will be soon." Her confidence wasn't very high. Also, I was watching at that point. Nobody seemed to notice talking about me drew my attention.

Not that I told them, so I'd forgave them that slight and kept right on listening.

Lemon tilted her head, a new participant of their group. "I've never been outside, um, on this world anyway." She wobbled a hoof with uncertainty before she sat up with a cough. "Sorry. Am I in the wrong place?"

Bon Bon inclined her head. "How? I mean, we were all people, doing things, being alive." She threw a hoof with each part. "We had lives."

"I think maybe I'm in the wrong spot." Lemon stepped down from her chair. "It's a bit complicated, but I never had a life, uh, here." She smiled just a little. "Bon Bon, do you still make candy here?"

Bon Bon's eyes dilated with surprise. "What? N-no!" What poor Lemon didn't know, that I was checking, was that Bon Bon had a few dreams related to making candy, but hadn't done anything about it. "This is hardly the place to make candy in, and I'm not a foal."

I made a quiet note to bring a few proper supplies to an empty room on Bon Bon's floors, writing a letter to that floor's manager while I was at it. Maybe it would calm Bon Bon down if she was allowed to partake in her pony past time. If it worked, it also meant the other patients would suddenly have candy available. Win win.

One large equine watched the other for a quiet moment. Both had grown used to being the largest thing in the room. Even humans were closer to eye level, and with the impressive bulk of their body, they knew even if a human was a bit taller much of the time, they were still bigger. Not that either had tried to knock a person over. That would have been quite rude.

"Uh, so... hey?" Susan waved a cloven hoof at the large horse before her. "Celestia, was it?"

"Susan," countered Celestia with a little smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I confess, this is a new experience."

"You and me both!" Susan reached out a hoof towards Celestia. "Nice to look someone in the eyes for a change."

Celestia met the hoof with a gentle clop of meeting. "You are not a pony... I feel strange pointing that obvious bit out, but I've grown quite used to facing my little ponies, not... my moderate-sized Kirin."

Susan looked off to the side, but an eye was fixed on Celestia. "I'm not exactly 'yours' either. I already have two that seem to be calling dibs on me, and that's quite enough. And a bit odd, if you ask me."

"Hm?" Celestia's wings rustled on her back. "Are you being bothered?"

Susan smiled a little at that. "Nothing bad like that. They're both friends, and basically a unit with each other." She brought up two hooves and touched them together. "They'd be married if that was an option in here, but they insist on me being around. So I'm left being the third wheel."

"A third wheel can be quite stabilizing," noted Celestia in soft counsel. "That they welcome you implies they appreciate your presence. Do correct me if I'm mistaken, but you are not the first person to ever be a roommate to a married couple."

"Usually not in an apartment," countered Susan with a soft chuckle. "Not a lot of space. We... had to work out a system for when they want... special time."

"Oh." Celestia had the manners to blush at the implications. "Good of you to handle that. I can... imagine how that would be trying."

"Now you're getting it." Susan tapped at Celestia's closer shoulder. "To make it worse, I was married before... all this. So each time is a little reminder..."

"I can imagine..." Celestia rose to her considerable height, though not much different than Susan's. "For now, we should get back to work. Twilight is probably beside herself."

Susan laughed at the conjured image. "Probably. Why did she think we'd have any troubles?" She led the way back to their waiting unicorn.

Twilight gestured at their newest member. "Lemon Drops is the purest example we have."

Lemon inclined her head. "Purest what? By the way, been meaning to ask... but where are your wings?"

That caught Twilight, blinking dumbly a moment. "Wings? I'm a unicorn." She pointed up towards her head.

"She has... Oh dear Celestia." Lemon rested a hoof against her forehoof.

Celestia raised an ear but didn't comment on her name being so used.

"The Twilight I knew, who I was good friends with, did a lot of things."

Twilight, the one there, nodded. "Sure? And they had wings?"

"They were an alicorn," huffed Lemon, pointing at Celestia. "Not as large, but larger than me." She turned the hoof back at herself. "She discovered a whole new kind of magic with her friends and pop, alicorn princess time."

Twilight set down the pointer she had been planning to use. "I... see... I am not a princess, as I feel certain you noticed."

"Other than in name, nor am I," agreed Celestia. "No kingdom for me, unfortunately." Her wings spread lightly. "But I am surrounded by such wonderful ponies."

"And kirin," noted Susan, seated beside Autumn in a tiny knot of kirin solidarity.

Twilight put a hoof flatside up. "We're getting distracted. Was your twilight always an alicorn?"

"Nope." Lemon pointed at Twilight. "You're perfect, for a younger Twilight. Then she learned stuff and did stuff and princess Twilight." She turned the hoof on Celestia. "She took your job, so you could retire with your sister."

Celestia started at that. "I don't..." But she didn't finish the words. "Right, my other self. The one from... where we all come from..."

"Speaking of that," cut in Twilight. "That is why I brought you all here today. Lemon is an untapped wealth of magical knowledge."

"I'm not a wizard," argued Lemon awkwardly.

That caught Twilight by surprise. "You said you were good at magic?"

"I'm good at magic I practice a lot, sure. I know how to read a spell, yes. But I don't make new spells really, or mess with spells. I cast what I see." She clopped her hooves, arms at angles. "The other you was a wizard, and Starlight and Star Swirl... Huh, wizards are named after the stars a lot, come to realize just now, gosh..."

"You come from an alien culture." Twilight leaned in at Lemon. "I want to hear more. But first." She turned her head towards the chalk board, lifting the pointer along the way with her magic. "You were going to show us how to magic, your way."

Autumn raised a hoof. "Pardon me?" Twilight looked over with a cocked brow. "Y-yeah, hey, sorry..." She nervously shuffled in her seat. "Not trying to be a pain, but we already have a spell to perfect, don't we? Tearing it all down to learn a new way of doing magic is kinda... a little getting off track?"

Twilight took a slow but noisy breath. "You're not... entirely wrong." She set down the pointer, instead grabbing a sheet of paper and wrenching it over. Attached to the paper next to it, which was attached to the next and the one after, she drew the song sheet of humanity with a big male symbol at the top. "Here is the spell of humanity, male version." She looked to Lemon Drop. "You said you are not a 'wizard', but... can you proofcheck this anyway? Is that within your skillset?"

Lemon's eyes darted from one magical note to the next. "It's a... really complex song... But it isn't magic, that I know of."

Autumn began waving again, wildly flailing a hoof. "Yes?" called Twilight, brow high. "You seem to have a lot to contribute today."

"Sorry!" Autumn pointed up at her ornate horn. "But I can cast the spell nice and slow, so you can see it?"

Twilight was waving away the idea. "There's no way she can just watch you and--"

"--Sure." Lemon nodded firmly. "If I see a spell, I can look for bad crosses, and start to get a grasp on it." She grappled with an imaginary ball in the air. "Not good enough to copy it right away, but it's a start."

Twilight sat back a little. "Or... well, please continue." She backed away a little, removing herself from blocking the spell.

Starlight sat down beside Lemon, having snuck over. "Did you say you knew me? A different me, I can only assume."

"Shhh." Lemon urged, hoof at her lips and eyes on Autumn. "I want to see this."

Susan rubbed at Autumn's back in quiet support as Autumn read over the spell quickly, her horn starting to glow. "What should I be aiming this at?"

Twilight cringed. "Question. Is it still permanent? Was that Sunburst's imperfections, or just dumb luck? Do we even know?!"

Lyra waved a hoof. "Why not cast it on a pony that doesn't want to be a pony. Like Bon Bon. Bet she'd sign right on the dotted line for a chance to be human again."

Twilight considered that a quiet moment. "Not a bad idea." Aw, I hadn't even gotten to try giving her a candy making room... "Let's call her in, if she's willing. Autumn, you alright with that?"

Autumn bobbed her head with enthusiasm. "Sure. But you'd better pull out the girl spell. Bon Bon was a girl, right? Shoot we'd better just ask her. You have both versions ready, right? So it shouldn't be a prob--"

Susan popped a hoof over Autumn's mouth, silencing her. "She's ready."

Twilight pulled a phone, attached to the wall, towards herself. "I'll make the call then." Her magic rapidly struck the buttons needed. "Assuming she's--Oh hello Bon Bon."

"Why are you calling?" demanded Bon Bon. "I'm not a fancy unicorn."

"No you are not," agreed Twilight without resistance. "But we have a spell we're trying that can turn things into humans. Interested?"

"You're pulling my tail," spat Bon Bon with mistrust. "Tell the truth."

"I am being completely honest." Twilight paced a little, the rest of the room watching her, listening to her side of the conversation. "We were about to try it, and your name was raised as somepony who may appreciate being the target of the spell."

"Someone," hissed Bon Bon, resisting that linguistic tic. "If you're not playing with my feelings... That does interest... me a little." A paper could be heard, a notebook being opened or closed? "Will I still be infectious?"

"To be perfectly honest." Twilight turned towards Autumn. "We have no idea. There's a not small chance you become human, just to go through the whole process again."

"That sounds positively revolting." And still... "But it's a chance..." A hoof tapping against something. "I could try to get my life back... Is this going to be secret?! I know others who want their fingers back, their lives back, their homes back!"

"If this works properly, the idea will be to use it, a lot, not hide it away," quickly assured Twilight. "But first we need to know it'll work, and animal testing has... more issues than you'd think. So a person, a human, or someone who once was a human, is the ideal candidate. Are you up for the task?"

One could almost hear Bon Bon's brows falling together. "Does it pay?"

Twilight crashed to her haunches. "That is not the question I expected."

"I want this, but I'm still providing a service." Bon Bon set the phone down to lecture it sitting there on the surface. "I'm going to need money when I get out of here. I may not have anything, and I have paperwork to do. If I can get paid, I want to be paid. There's a lot to do, so, yes, does this pay?"

Author's Note

Is Bon Bon mad, or smart? Things are tying together nicely, I feel.

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