Ponymon

After being let go from the hospital, I’ve spent the first two days mostly resting. It’s what I’d be doing there anyway. Of course though, I wasn’t limited to resting solely in my room, so I’d often go sit down in the garden to catch some sun. Suzzane, as if trying to make up for the time lost, would very often come and stay there with me. It was sweet of her, though I did not want her life to revolve solely around me so I kept reminding her to visit my sister sometimes too. Nonetheless, I still seemed to be her #1 priority, as if she simply needed to make up for the time lost.

While she was with me, I figured that we could put our time together to some use so I downloaded a certain language learning app with a green bird as a logo. With it, I could start learning another language and Suzzane could reinforce her first one as I went through the basic sentences over and over again. It was somewhat addictive and beneficial too, because we were both doing something that would surely be of great use in the future. Certainly better than just sleeping or lounging all day.

Of course, grinding for knowledge wasn't the sole thing we did as that would be tiring for the mind. We’d often just bask in the sun together, gently cuddle or even play some card games. It wasn’t hard to teach Suzzane a few of those I knew, however, what proved to be a bit of a challenge for her was holding the cards. That’s where my sister stepped into the picture because she saw Suzzane struggling and offered to help. At first she was just holding the cards for the mare but eventually they teamed up against me. Good times for all three of us, actually. Back then, I used to feel like I could have been a better brother, so spending more time with my sister helped my conscience a bit.

Since Suzzane seemed to be even better at listening after those two months, I started to read books out loud in front of her. Again, I tried to combine something that could serve us both, since I had plenty of books I wanted to read, yet never did, and Suzzane had plenty to learn. It wasn’t just the language that she needed to know but also a bit more about the world out there as she was massively out of touch about some things. She did know something from those few movies which she actually saw from beginning to end, but it wasn’t always acorrect assumption. For instance, my parents (I have to shamefully admit that neither did I) never bothered to explain to her which movies were set in a fictional world and which tried to imitate what was actually out there. That’s why my lovely horsewife believed for a long time that people with supernatural powers are actually quite common, that dragons are real or that certain animals can speak and are fully sentient, just like her. That was another fun topic to chat about.
In the evening, after the sun set and it was preferable to come inside again, we’d switch from books, cards and learning, to PC. I’d be lying if I said that I did not miss it. Not as much as I missed my better half of course but I still enjoyed vidya from time to time. The thing is, I only had my right hand to use it, so, we made a compromise with Suzzane that I’d be aiming with the mouse and she would walk. As you can expect, it was very clumsy at first but eventually, we did manage to make a bit of progress. It was definitely a new and entertaining experience.

What I was trying to say though, if it isn’t obvious, is that we had an absolute blast being together again; Being able to share activities and thoughts after such a long time. It was missing one thing though… Okay, maybe two things but I wasn’t really in condition to do any of those. At least not throughout the first few days.

On the third day though, if I don’t count the one when I arrived and went straight to sleep, I finally deemed it was time to stop being so easy on myself and just go on the stroll I longed so much for. The bruises, although horribly colourful, ceased hurting so much with every move and we finally ventured somewhere where the real trees grow and water flows on its own!~ Even if the water was just a small creek and the trees were a mere alley. Considering the nerd I used to be, I grew very fond of nature.

Considering the recent events, I slightly feared whether Suzzane would still enjoy being outside the same way she used to. You know, whether she’d still be so much fun to be around but most importantly, whether she’d have fun. Whether she retained the ability to enjoy the little things. However, I soon found out that in her heart, she was still the same silly mare that enjoyed chasing butterflies, jumping over water and climbing trees. Merely a little more educated and experienced one.

As much as I’d want to, I couldn’t do all that stuff with her but I knew it wasn’t going to be like that forever so I didn’t mind. Settling for just watching her have fun was enough for me. I was looking forward to being completely healed though.

We went our usual direction towards the fields where we had our very first stroll. It wasn’t far, we had some good memories and, I’m not even exactly sure why, I also wanted to have a look at the place where I had my tent, two months ago.

On the way throughout the neighbourhood, I occasionally saw somewhat familiar faces of people living there; Although I didn’t really know any of them personally. It made me wonder just how many of them actually knew about ‘the incident in the woods’. However, judging from the fact that somehow most of my father's co-workers learned about it, I presumed the dog lady told as many people as she could. I didn’t really care at that point though. Since my worst fear had already manifested itself in its worst possible form, there was nothing worse that could happen.

When I caught an eye of someone that was looking at me judgingly, as if he or she knew who I was, I’d gladly return the look with a smile and wish a terrific day. It felt nice, not being scared anymore. If someone asked, I’d probably even tell them directly: “Yes, this is my wife, ain’t she beautiful?” Just to see their faces. Nobody did ask though and maybe it was for the better because it would probably give my family even more negative fame.

We slowly went through the familiar alley where I ‘lost’ Suzzane the first time and then got pranked by her. Then we passed the creek and not far from it, was the spot.

“Dis where Anon sleep?” Suzzane ate one of the dandelions growing there.

“Yeah, this is the place…” I stared at it.

“Good plaec. Good grass here.” Remarked the mare and had another dandelion.

I sort of thought there would be something to look at but there wasn’t anything at all. Not even a trace of me, spending there some of the worst moments of my life. Just green grass which was way taller than before and some flowers.

In a way, it was actually quite liberating to see it. As if it was a sign that if we let them, wounds will heal and allow you to grow further; Maybe even, to grow some tasty flowers.

In the sudden realisation, I smiled: “So, now that we’ve been here, let’s go back again. There’s nothing to see, really.”

On the way back, we took a different route so we could walk along the creek a little longer. Then we had to go an equally lengthy way through the neighbourhood but we were not in a hurry. It was a beautiful summer day, begging to be enjoyed outside in the sun.

Since we also made a few more stops, and I didn’t walk as fast as I usually would, the stroll ended up being a whole afternoon activity.

…

Upon our return, my dad was out somewhere but my mother was in the house. Gone were the days when I had to rely on her to clean Suzzane’s hooves before coming inside. I gladly began doing it myself, even with only one usable hand. The woman approached us nonetheless though, inquiring where we have been and what we’ve been doing.

“The usual I guess. We just went for a walk towards the fields.” I replied nonchalantly, while scrubbing clean one of Suzzane’s hoofs. Then I smiled. “It was really nice though.”

“Good, good.” The woman smiled back awkwardly. “Didn’t do anything um, you know, publicly inappropriate, right?”

“Mom!.. You really think that’s all we ever do outside?” I laid down the cloth rag and Suzzane blushed a little when she realised what was the topic of our conversation. “It’s not like each time we go out, we have to go at it! It happened only once.”

“I was just making sure Anon. We don’t need any more unwanted attention, that’s all.”

“Well, I did learn my lesson to be more mindful about my surroundings if that is what you mean…” I picked up the rag again, moving onto the last hoof. “And if it makes you feel better, we haven't even done it once since I got home.”

“Okay, okay. I believe you Anon.” My mom said quickly, hoping to prevent me from going into any details. She then opened her mouth, about to say something more but then just awkwardly walked away, knowing well that she didn’t handle the conversation very well.

I was speaking the truth though, I honestly didn’t even think about making the “big sex, yes” to Suzzane; as she once called it herself.

Okay,.. I did think about it but I wasn’t in the condition to do it and I wasn’t in a big hurry to do it either. I knew there’d be plenty of time for that in the future.

However, since it was already implied, I figured that we might as well have a little bit of a good time together that night. A very gentle and discreet kind, that is. After all, I was well enough to walk and it’s been so long…

***

After what my mother said, I figured it really might be the best thing to leave the house when I can. Giving it some more thought, I might have finally come up with a solution to not disappoint anyone. The next day on breakfast, while Suzzane was outside in the garden with my sister, I decided to bring it up:

“Hey Dad, it IS possible to take a year off from school and then continue where I left off, right?” I asked while eating my bread with some curry hummus. Yum.

“Well, yes, I think it is. Under some circumstances.” He looked up at me from his own food. “Wouldn’t it be easier though to just continue now?”

“That depends. You see…” I explained to him my exact concerns regarding my stay with them, about how I can see that they are still not exactly at peace with my relationship with Suzzane, and how I don’t want to trigger them with every little thing I might do. My dad had to admit that it was somewhat true but he couldn't see how postponing it a year would help.

“Throughout that year, Suzzane could learn to speak a bit better and maybe you would start to perceive her a little differently than you do now.” I said. “...You still don’t believe me about her intellect, do you?”

For a few seconds, there was silence while my father weighed whether to be completely honest about what he was thinking or say something neutral. In the end he explained his point of view:

“Sorry, but no. One would think that if she really was as smart as you consider her to be, she would try to speak with us while you were gone but she never did. It only reinforced my belief that she’s just parroting you.”

“But that’s just because she was depressed, dad!”

“Son please, let’s not go this direction again.”

I really wanted to tell him that I can show him how she uses the dance pad to play video games with me or how she can beat my sister at cards. I wanted to convince my parents to have a conversation with Suzzane in calm, while giving her enough time to form the sentences. Instead, I swallowed that and just said instead:

“Okay, as you wish, but it is all the more reason to have a gap year. Then, when I’ll return, you’ll be gasping at how much progress she’ll make.”

It made the two people look at each other in doubt but they didn’t say anything. I guess that they resented the idea of Suzzane being sentient so much, because then they would have to admit to themselves that they were not treating her the way she deserved. That they would have to admit that they basically own a slave, not a pet. Although, the term “slave” is probably too harsh as she wasn’t exactly required to do any slave work. Still, they owned another sentient being and it was hard to acknowledge.

I somewhat understood how drastic it would be for them but I wasn’t going to let them stay in their illusion forever. I was determined to make them see. One day, when there will be absolutely no way for them to deny.

***

It was decided then, I called Sasha to pick me up next week as I presumed I would be relatively fine by that time. The gypsum could be taken off at any hospital later, or, I figured we could even do it at the restaurant; Provided Sasha would be sober at the moment of cutting through it.

It meant that I had over a week to fully prepare myself, which was way more than the last time and more than enough. I actually had a few things I wanted to get done throughout that time. One of which was to sell my PC and buy an older gaming laptop instead. And also, to get a new phone screen so I could try to replace it later when I’d have both hands available and a plenty of time on them.

I have to say that I was very lucky because I found a buyer for my PC relatively quickly. With the money, I was able to afford both the new screen and the used laptop without having to touch my reserves. A lot.

My parents didn’t know exactly how much was in there, so I figured that if I used just a little bit of it before exchanging the money for Suzzane, it wouldn’t hurt.

Anyway, I was in the town centre, looking for the shop I had found on the internet. Supposedly, they were selling all kinds of both old and new tech stuff there, including spare phone screens. I already called there to ask if they had mine, so I only went there to pick it up and maybe choose a laptop as well.

Naturally, I had Suzzane with me to keep me company as well as for her to get outside from the house and see new places. I was on the bicycle and she was naturally on foot, or rather, hoof in her case. Before you ask: riding the bike with only one hand wasn’t an issue as I was used to riding it without hands altogether and, no, it wasn’t even my bicycle. Mine was still at the restaurant. Dad was actually kind enough to let me borrow his, so thumbs up to him for that.

It was actually our first ride together with Suzzane since I returned, so we were both a little out of shape. Nevermind that though, we have both thoroughly enjoyed it.

Once we reached the centre, I decided we could buy something to eat as a reward for making it all the way and to replenish some energy. Fortunately, there was a pizza place nearby and you can guess who loves pizza. Everyone, including Suzzane and me.

However, as we sat down on one of the benches at the square, sharing a tasty vegetariana, I suddenly heard a female voice from somewhere behind me:

“Hey! You there!”

Naturally, I turned around and I saw a woman rushing towards us. She was probably somewhere between her 30’s and 40’s, had glasses and short-ish hair. I slowly laid down the pizza slice that I was about to bite into and waited, wondering whether there would be some kind of trouble or not.

“You there, want to help me change history?” She asked when she was nearly there.

“Uh, hello. What’s this about?” I asked. While I was glad it wasn’t about something I did, her saying something ambitious sounded odd as hell.

The woman had a closer look at Suzzane sitting next to me before continuing: “Say,.. would you consider the pony being way more intelligent than you initially thought?”

“Well, yeah. I actually know that for a fact.” I made a short pause. “How did you know though?”

“That’s what I thought. You see, I’m putting together interviews from people like you. The reason is that there’s a growing number of cases in which these ponies sprout rapid intellect growth but the media don’t seem to acknowledge the fact. Someone ought to point out what is happening here and I decided to take it into my own hands. Would you care for an interview?” She smiled.

I glanced at Suzzane, who probably wasn’t too familiar with the word “interview" yet but she seemed to be enthusiastic about the topic. We nodded at each other.

“Why not?” I said. “And if it gets us some answers regarding Suzzane’s origin, that would be great.”

“Perfect! My name’s Michelle. Let’s sit down at the café over there.” The woman pointed towards the door from which she must have run out before. “I already have a table reserved and you can tell me your story. My um, colleague is already waiting there.”

“Okay...” I glanced over to Suzzane, wondering what she meant by that. As suspicious as it sounded, I wasn’t going to back down at that point. “Sue, you want some more of that pizza before we go?”

“Yes.” The mare nodded and took two big bites from the slice which I had in my hand. “Ih gooh noe.” She announced then with a mouthful.

“Alright. Let’s go then.” I also had a bite out of the slice and picked myself up.

…

We followed the woman inside the building, towards one of the tables near the window. It was an ordinary café, maybe just a little bit too posh for my tastes, as I tended to choose cheaper places. However, there was quite a shocker waiting for me at the table. It turned out the woman’s colleague was in fact not a human.

To my absolute surprise, for the very first time, I saw another pony from up close. When she glanced at me, her face looked like Suzzane’s, except with a different default expression. This other pony seemed more reserved from the very first glance. She was lounging in her seat, somehow holding a dessert fork in her hoof and slowly chewing a morsel of a chocolate cake that was in front of her.

I should point out though that she didn’t merely look like Suzzane, she looked exactly like Suzzane. As if I saw an instance of my beloved mare from an alternate reality. The only notable difference was in their manes: The other mare had it cut into a modern looking hairstyle, while my silly wife’s mane was naturally growing and was about two times longer.

I knew that my parents mentioned before that they all looked like clones but I wasn’t there with them when they were choosing. Never before have I seen another of Suzzane’s kind, so I guessed they all merely looked very similar in colour. However, seeing a perfect imitation of my one and only, sitting there in front of me, was truly confounding.

When I sat down, I couldn’t stop staring from one pony to another. If it weren’t for the manes and the difference in body posture, it would be nearly impossible to tell them apart. I hated that for some reason.

Suzzane, however, wasn’t as shocked as I was. Sure, she was curious about seeing another one that’s just like her but it obviously wasn’t her first time. “Me Suzzane, hello!” She greeted and introduced herself in one sentence.

“Um, hi there.” I waved awkwardly.

“Hello. I’m Stacy. Nice to meet you both.” Answered the other pony. She spoke too refinedly to sound like a casual, born speaker of the language but it was almost perfect. That part visibly surprised even Suzzane.

“Ooo! Speak very good!” She commented on it, pupils widened. “Where learn?”

“I had many classes with a private teacher.” Smiled Stacy ever so courteously. “Thank you.”

My jaw dropped a little. What Stacy represented for me was both a proof that I was completely correct about Suzzane having the mental capacity to perfectly learn to speak but at the same time, it raised so many questions.

Is she really just a clone? If so, does that make her our bond any less special?

“Mister, are you okay?” Stacy spoke to me suddenly.

“Um, yeah! Of course!” I realised just how long I have been staring at her. “...Sorry it’s just that, it’s my first time seeing another one of your species. Besides Suzzane..” I decided to admit.

“We invented the term. “equinians”.” Michelle squeezed herself into the conversation. “Or just “ponies”, if you prefer, but I’d say that the first one sounds a little more apt, wouldn't you say?”

“...You’re right that the term “equinilians” sounds somewhat more official.” I looked at her awkwardly, still a little befuddled.

“Equinians.” I was corrected. “Not equinilian-...anyway, let's just use "ponies"."

“Sure.” I nodded, failing to play it cool. “So, um…Uh…”

“You have questions, right?” Asked Stacy.

“Yeah. I do, actually.” I glanced at the mare and then at Suzzane, sitting next to me. She was observing the situation the whole time and she seemed to be just a little confused by my own confusion. Just why is my Anon acting so nervous?

“We can answer those after the interview, I would like it to be authentic.” Michelle stepped in. “Sorry. Surely you won’t mind?”

“Okayyyy then. I guess I can wait.” I agreed, though a little bit disappointed.

Great!” The woman smiled and as if by the way, she raised her hand with a phone in it, waving at a waiter that was passing by. “Two more Sachers please! Wait! Actually four…Thank you.” She then put her phone into the middle of the table and turned back to me. “You won’t mind that I will be recording this, right? It will be anonymous, unless you’d want to share more about yourself publicly.”

“The recording is fine but I’m not sure if I want my name to be in public.” I glanced at the phone.

“Understandable. In the article, you’ll be Steve and Suzzane will be um- Pocahontas!” She smiled and pressed the record button on the touch screen. “Aaaaand, we’re recording. So, to start it off, what is your relationship with the pony next to you? Do you still consider her ‘a pet’ or rather ‘a person’?”

“We are way past that I’d say.” I involuntarily chuckled to myself and blushed a little. I hesitated for merely a second, but since there wasn’t going to be my name in there to ruin the reputation of my parents, I continued: “This lovely gal is my wife.” And I raised my hand with the silver ring on my pinky for Michelle to see.

“Yes, Suzzane wife!” The mare next to me proudly moved a little closer and grinned widely as she raised her hoof to show off her bracelet. “...Not real, but real for Anon and Suzzane.”

“Well, that’s definitely new…” It slightly stumped both of the females in front of me. “We haven’t interviewed many people yet, but you’re the first I know about to um… go so far in their relationship’. This will certainly be interesting.” It was Michelle’s turn to try and play it cool. “So, how did you two come together? ”

“Anon parents buy Suzzane and Suzzane friend Anon. Then wife. Then Anon must leave but then he come back and both very happy.” Suzzane nodded to herself proudly. Somehow she must have missed that she’s supposed to be Pocahontas and I was supposed to be Steve.

“Um Suzie, we were supposed to use fake names but nevermind I guess.” I smiled awkwardly. I should have realised that she could still easily miss parts of sentences if we didn’t speak clearly enough.

“Oh, that why Suzzane Pocahotas. Understand nao.” The pony gave me an angelic smile. It’s not as if I was actually upset at her but if I was, I wouldn’t be any longer at that point.

“That’s no problem, we can just change it in the article. Speak anyhow you want. Let’s just continue. ” The woman in front of me said to Suzzane, then turned towards me. “How did the relationship progress? When and how did you realise that there might be more to your pony companion?”

“Well, it actually took me a couple of months…” I started and I told them in truth about how I initially resented Suzzane but then she found her way into my heart. Then, I explained how I slowly began spending more and more time with her until she became my very best friend. In the meanwhile, they brought us all the Sacher cakes which Michelle kindly ordered for us. Throughout that time, Suzzane just let me speak without any input from her side. She merely listened and occasionally took a bite of her cake in a similar clumsy manner as a dog would. When I was done with my story, I couldn’t help not to ask a question that lingered in my mind for a while:

“Hey Suzie, why did you even choose me?” I turned towards her, just as she finally managed to lick off the bit of chocolate that was stuck on her nose.

“Anon Suzzane best friend. Anon always very, very nice to Suzzane. Treat like human.” The mare smiled and blushed a little .”Anon also very pretty. And smell good. That why Suzzane try lick-”

“No no sweetie,” I hastily stopped her before she’d go into details about our very first night. That was something I definitely wanted to keep between the two of us. “I mean, why did you even come to my room back then. At the very start. I didn’t want to have anything to do with you back then but you still came over.”

“Ooo. Because Anon sad before. Inside.” She put her hoof on her chest while searching for the right word. “Alo-ane. Need a friend. Suzzane always friend who need.” The mare smiled.

“Just like that?... Even though I wasn’t good to you back then?” I was about to have a piece of my cake as well but I laid the fork down instead.

“Yes.” Suzzane nodded. “Also, Suzzane co-...um…coorius! Before, not know that future wife. But enjoy very much nao.”

“Yeah, I had no idea either.” I wrapped my arm around her to pull her closer and kiss her forehead. “Thanks for being so kind to me back then, darling.”

“Anon also kind to Suzzane.” She smiled and cuddled up to me. “Feel warm inside when around.”

I realised that even if it was just her (possibly artificial) friendly nature which initially brought us together, it didn’t change the fact that my feelings for her were very real.

For a second or two I almost forgot that we were being interviewed. I began nuzzling the mare and I was about to kiss her on her lips when I stopped, coughing into my fist. “I um., sorry. We got a little lost in the moment. Was there anything else?”

“Maybe I will also find a human mate for myself.” Sneakily announced Stacy to Michelle. “I also long to be cherished like this by a male.”

Michelle also coughed into her fist. “A-Anyway, what was the crucial moment when you became 100% sure about the sentience of your companion?”

“I um,..It was…” I began, still red from before. However, when I remembered that the crucial moment actually happened that very night which I didn’t want to talk about publicly, I grew even redder. My intention was to find some words to say the truth but also mask it enough to not give away any details, so I said: “When I looked into her eyes at one important milestone of our relationship, I saw a lot more in there than I possibly could see in the eyes of an animal. There was potential and understanding, deeper than I thought before. And I just knew that she was the one who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”

“Then we do the big sex for first time!” Happily announced Suzzane next to me, turning everyone else’s faces completely red in an instant. Paying absolutely no mind to the embarrassment she had caused, the mare continued fondly: “Suzzane also see in Anon eyes that he “the one”. Feel,.. familiar. Remember from time before Suzzane was Suzzane and Anon was Anon.”

Because of the predicament, I almost didn’t hear the last part that she said. It took me a good few awkward seconds to realise it. “...Wait, what did you say, sweetie? That you remember “us” from before you were you and I was I?”

“Yes! Suzzane see before. When look deep.” She smiled as if it was a completely normal thing to do.

“What did we look like back then?” I inquired.

“Don’t know! Only feeeel.” Suzzane widened her eyes and raised her front hooves to flap them a little in front of herself. “Suzzane feel many things when look deep into eyes.”

“Huh…” Michelle glanced at Stacy. “Do you have any telepathic powers or…”

“Well I never really tried…” Frowned the mare slightly and used her fork to carefully cut a piece of her cake. “I’ve spent my life learning to be like you humans.”

“Well it is certainly an important discovery. We’ll have to look into it.” The woman, still a little red in her face from before, adjusted her glasses to regain her composure. It seemed that the topic of reincarnation wasn’t anything new to her. “We thank you both for sharing. Is there anything else worth noting for the research? Any particularly interesting finds?”

“Well, I’m not sure.” I shrugged my arms, in my head still wondering about what Suzzane just said. “A few months after what we just told you about, we had a little private marriage, then my parents found out and they threw me out for being a degenerate. Then they took me back in for a while and we will be leaving next week together. Then, we will hopefully have enough time for Suzzane to learn the language even better. We didn’t practise that much in the past. I didn’t want to force her.”

“I’m sure you’ll get there eventually.” Smiled Stacy at Suzzane.

“Thanks!” Suzzane smiled back.

“Anyway, I think we were mostly done.” Michelle returned us all back on track after swallowing a big morsel of her cake that she visibly longed for a good while. “Now, I did promise you some answers, so, we will be happy to tell you everything that we know so far.”

“Great! Do you know anything about the origin of eqi-uh ponies? Where did they come from?” I asked quickly, hungry for some answers.

“That’s the thing,.. we don’t.” Michelle sort of ruined my quickly rising hopes. “Yet though! We are collecting every information that we can, so we could publish it one day. It’s not much but we’ve already learned a few things that we can base the research on. First is: The ponies are very likely clones, all made from the same DNA; Accelerated growth. That is why there are only very minimal mutations between their looks and why they appeared so suddenly.”

“Well, I don’t mean to be rude but I sort of could have guessed that when I saw Stacy.” I glanced at her. “No offence.”

“None taken.” She glanced back at me and had the last morsel of her Sacher cake.

Suzzane meanwhile tried to imitate her using the fork, but she dropped it.

“I know, but there’s a bit more.” Michelle snapped her fingers to get back my attention as I was reaching down to pick up the fork for Suzzane. “I suspect that all of the first gen ponies can boast with intelligence rivalling the human mind. Initially, I thought it only applies to those with the blue-ish eye colour, which is approximately every tenth one but it's probably not true. There might be something else to the blue eyed individuals, possibly the telepathy thingy, but I need to do more interviews before making any conclusions. The next thing: Their creators might have been partly or even very aware of their intelligence, but were likely unable to deal with it through genetics… I know for a fact, that these ponies have been growing up with dogs. Stacy remembers parts of it.” She glanced at Suzzane, as if looking for some kind of reaction from her.

“Suzzane remember dog friends!” Suzzane exclaimed, adding to Michelle’s growing smug expression.

“Yeah, I figured.” The woman adjusted her glasses with a little smile. “I’ve been pondering why would they make all the equinians spend their whole youth solely with dogs and I think the answer is simple: To make them behave like dogs. Likely in hopes that after reaching adulthood, they would simply keep that animal mindset. Provided no one would start treating them differently.”

“But that is insane.” I raised my arms a little in disbelief. “I mean, there was bound to be someone who would find out. Wouldn’t there?”

“Well yes, but they must have been desperate for money.” Michelle raised her finger, shortly glancing at Suzzane who was attempting to use the fork again. “I looked up the corp’s net worth throughout the years and while they were in the development, they almost went bankrupt. In order to get back on track, they had to turn their research into profit, which they did. That’s likely why they launched their campaign prematurely, fully aware that their “product” was flawed. They simply could not afford to scrap it and start all over again. But if they could pull it off, then they’d have enough money to perfect them, silence all media and bribe all the possible lawsuits. Makes sense right? It does to me.”

“Well, it is still a completely unhinged plan. I mean, don’t we have some state organs specifically for snuffing out actions like these?” I stuffed a piece of my cake into my mouth and cut another piece to feed it to Suzanne. I wanted to let her do it herself but I felt bad about her attempts.

“Dear boy, you really are young if you still believe that the state works for the people.” The woman laughed. “Everything is just a question of money, power and knowledge. These organs would happily let a thing like this slide, even help cover it up, if they’d get their share of money and information from the research. Ever heard of MK ultra, project monarch?”

“Um-” I wanted to speak with my mouthful but I decided not to.

“What is truly interesting is that recently, the corporation received funds from the government.” Continued Michelle. “Even though the government actually tried to sue them in the past! At one point, every action against them was dropped. Instead, they began pouring money into them. Isn’t that interesting? I’m almost sure that they realised that they could have some sort of military interest in what they do. It could have something to do with the telepathic powers that we just discovered, who knows?”

“Lady, this is quite a lot to take in, I-” I laid my fork down because I was finished eating. “... hold on, whose is the DNA they cloned all of the ponies off?

“Yeah, that’s the big enigma.” The woman leaned back and threw her hands up. “Could be alien. Could be something they dug up from the past. Could be something from behind the antarctic! Why is absolutely no one allowed to explore the whole damn thing? But I’m 90% sure that the discovery of the DNA is basically the whole reason why this whole thing started in the first place.”

“Well,.. You certainly gave me a lot to think about.” I scratched my head. “Almost too much.”

“Likewise.” Michelle smiled, then glanced at the mare next to her who was eyeing up a confused male waiter. “And I’m pretty sure that Stacy also received a different perspective…”

***

We chatted for a little longer but eventually, we shook our hands and said goodbyes.

I left the café with Suzzane next to me and the cold pizza in my hands. I didn’t regret the visit, even though I learned that Suzzane’s body may not be as special as I might have thought before. In the end, it didn’t even matter because it was her soul that was special to me. Even more so after what she had said about us during the interview.

It is true that I called her “a soulmate” numerous times before but it was just a word to describe how I felt towards her. However, hearing Suzzane herself speak about our life before this one, that was something different. I wasn’t sure back then whether I believed in reincarnation but hearing such a claim from someone who doesn’t tend to lie, it made me delve more into the subject later in life.

What I was really trying to say here though, was that if it was even possible for my love towards my pretty little wife to grow even further, it definitely did that day.

We walked back to the bench at which we sat before to finish the pizza because there wasn’t that much left and I wanted to get rid of the box before we would go. I quietly chewed my morsel, one after another, watching Suzzane munch hers. My mind kept wondering about the overwhelming amount of things that I learned, trying to make sense of it all in my own head. Especially, I wanted to filter what to believe in and what not. I also considered asking Suzzane more questions but for that moment, I merely settled for watching her eat. In a way, her carefreeness calmed me.

I wasn’t sure what would be of the interview we gave and whether it would really help anything. I did hope though, that Michelle would uncover the whole truth eventually and maybe one day, even people like my father could read about it in the newspaper. Until then though, not many things were changed.

As I watched the mare, staying in the present moment, it ultimately didn’t matter to me where she came from or what exactly she was. Just like her, I knew that we really did belong together and that was all I needed to know.

When we were finished with the pizza, I sat on my bicycle and I rode back with my wife galloping by my side. After the interview, I happened to completely forget about the phone screen and the notebook, which I initially went to pick up.

Only once we stopped, about halfway home, and Suzzane asked: “No buy stuff today?” did I recall what was the main point of that day.

“Let’s just go home now, they might be closing anytime soon anyway.” I scratched my head, feeling a little dumb. Then I smiled though. “ Hey, at least we’ll have a reason to go out together tomorrow again, what do you say?”

“Suzzane yes! Race home now.” The mare pranced and she was already on her way.

***