Five Score: Albedo of the Moon

Chapters

1. The Moon Rises
2. Antumbra
Chapter 3. Ponies

1. The Moon Rises

I hate people.

They’re stupid, selfish and right then they’re keeping me stuck at work. I tried to get around them but I couldn’t. You would think people could stand to the side in a hallway if they weren’t walking. Nope. They don’t do that.

So instead I look like the bad guy when I bump past them.

“Sorry,” I lied, shuffling past.

My coworkers are awful. Just like the customers. Just like everyone else.

Someone stepped directly into my path.

“Hey John, got any special plans today?” my manager greeted me with her typical smile. She knew what today was but she held her tongue. For that, I was grateful so I didn’t frown.

At the sound of our ringleader, several others turned and looked expectantly at us.

However, I was clocked out, so she no longer held any power over me.

“No,” I said, walking past them.

I took the stairs down just so I didn’t have to deal with any more people standing and talking and waiting. I beat the majority of my coworkers to the lobby and then out into the congested streets. The warmth and stench contrasted sharply with the dry, cold office.

I walked faster over the uneven, trash-strewn side walk towards the parking garage. I kept my head down to avoid the sun and eye contact. I was in a bit of a hurry. There were only a few hours of daylight left and then the night would be mine. It’s true I had nothing special to do todaym but the day itself was mildly special.

I took the steps inside the parking garage three at a time, which was easy at my height. When I finally got to my Jeep Grand Cherokee I unlocked it, sat inside and then ripped my tie off and dashed it to the seat next to me.

I instinctively locked the car door and sat while I caught my breath and let my anger defuse. I didn’t even know why I was angry.

I let my mind refocus on something that should make me happy.

“Twenty five.”

I should be excited but instead I was just tired. Twenty-five years alone, frustrated, misunderstood. At least it was Friday. I could spend the weekend alone again. Just the way I liked it.

I put on my seatbelt and started the car so that I could focus on driving.

I didn’t have to stop anywhere, I'd already bought everything I wanted yesterday. I could just go home to my apartment.

Traffic was gridlocked like always. No one knew how to drive. With the state the roads were in, that wasn’t any surprise. It felt like more people got through the light after it turned red than when it was green. Maybe this crap is why my coworkers lingered so long.

I cranked the car stereo louder to drown my emotions in the song’s:
I'm fine with changing status quo, but not in letting go
Now the world is being torn apart
A terrible catastrophe played by your symphony
What a terrifying work of art
I can't sit idly, no, I can't move at all
I curse the name, the one behind it all~

I hit the shuffle button. This song wasn’t helping me right now. If anything it made me angry and melancholic.

The fandom was dying. Most people still around were separated into their little niches. Everyone else had moved on. They’d grown up and got married and had kids or got careers and had no time left for what was, to them, just a silly children’s cartoon that got popular. Either way, they left the fandom with more than when they came into it: they had cultivated talents and friendships along the way.

And then there was me. Did I move on as well? I was always just a lurker. Things never changed. Maybe I should have done more with what time I had.

My mood was dour and bitter by the time I got to my apartment complex. Several times people honked at me even though I had the right of way. They were lucky my windows were rolled up.

I was so on edge I practically begged for my parking spot to be blocked just so I had a way to blow off steam. It was free though. And now, so was I.

I took the elevator up to my apartment. Once I was in and the door was locked, I breathed easier. My sanctuary. I left the overhead lights off like I preferred while I stripped away my shoes and work clothes. Everything was cast aside until I was almost bare.

I was home. Or at least, the closest facsimile of it.

Looking over my darkened abode, I was greeted by a happy face. I'd almost forgot I left her there on my counter.

“Greetings, princess,” I saluted the plushie facing my door. Princess Luna quietly reciprocated my glance.

She didn’t talk much. We both liked the silence.

Sitting next to her was our glorious cake. Chocolate, of course.

I wasn’t hungry yet though. Right now, I needed to unwind.

I grabbed a bag of chips and moved towards the tv and started my console. I'd just bought Destiny 3 but I wanted something familiar today. No progress. Just nostalgia. Something safe.

I started up my usual and saw there was a multiple gig update.

Naturally.

They just had an update. I bet they broke something.
An emergency broadcast siren started up on my phone. I stood up immediately to shut it up.

“What are the odds it’s Russia?” I mused darkly.

I reclaimed it from my pants and saw it was just an Amber alert. I swiped it away and sat back down. I saw I had more relevant messages from family and people I used to hang out with as well: “Happy Birthday” and “We should hang out some time.” and the like. I didn’t want to reply to any of them but I gave some complacent thanks here and there and ignored the rest when I saw something change on the TV screen:

Update complete.

Time to shoot people.

The sun was hardly missed when it quietly went to bed and let the creatures of the night run free. My genocide on digital humanoids controlled by real humans continued well into the night.

I got up to go to the bathroom but when I sat back down for a final round of catharsis and rage I felt like I had forgotten something. It was that feeling when you walk into a room and forget why you did.

“...what was I doing?”

I stood back up and headed back to the bathroom for clues. I turned on the light, looked around and checked the mirror and saw the tall bastard in it. Stumped I turned the light back off and came back into the room to look out there.

I saw my cake and realized I’d completely forgotten to eat at all.

That was normal though. That wasn’t it either.

Then I saw Luna sitting next to it. My gaze moved to the window.

It was something urgent. Something to do with…

I walked over towards my window and peaked through the curtains, searching the black, star-less sky for the night’s guardian.

I couldn’t see it from here. Had it risen?

Dissatisfied, I contemplated my response to this…

Then realized I had already made up my mind.

I grabbed my ‘master key’ from its hiding spot and headed for my apartment door. I unlocked and locked it back, even though I wouldn’t be long.

I headed towards the elevator but then took the stairs up.

I reached the top, final door and unlocked it. As soon as I pulled it open I felt the chill of the night seep in past my legs.

I stepped out onto the dark roof and quickly located the moon in its heavenly halls.

A shame it wasn’t a full moon, but it was waxing yet.

“The moon rises,” I told myself as I approached the edge of the building.

I looked for the stars but couldn’t spot any among the light pollution. The moon stood alone as it did every night in this city.

I guess I just wanted to see it. I sighed and watched it expectantly.

When I was little I wanted to be an astronaut, like a lot of children do. Then at some point, I realized we don’t go to the moon anymore and we probably weren’t sending people to other planets any time soon. Then I realized how hard and selective that kind of thing was as well. It’s probably for the best humans don’t leave this planet anyways. We’ve done enough harm here.

Regardless, I still always liked looking at the moon. Long before my… “obsession” with Princess Luna from that cartoon. The moon was quiet but not lonely, it stood a respectable distance away but always watching. And that never changed. Its presence inspired people, technologically and romantically. We literally saw things in the moon. Even if I couldn’t ever really see a ‘man in the moon’ or a ‘bunny making mochi’ or whatever.

I traced my eyes over the craters and tried remembering which part was which. While I was staring though, I could swear something was off about the craters tonight.

Suddenly, I realized what was wrong. There she was: the mare in the moon; the craters were in the shape of a unicorn silhouette.

Just like on Equus… before…

The sound of a police siren in the distance pulled me away from the night sky. Suddenly, I was really cold.

I looked back at the moon, it had moved but it looked like the normal Earth moon again. For a moment I wondered how the moon had moved until I realized how cold it was had something to do with it. I must have spaced out and watched it drift for hours.

I headed back inside for warmth. While scratching my ice-cold thigh I was mentally kicking myself because I was probably going to get sick from this. I thought I should take a shower or something to warm back up but standing around in a daze for hours apparently exhausted a pony. Once I was back in the apartment, I decided to just head straight to my warm bed.

I locked by apartment door, grabbed Luna and beelined for my bed to snuggle her. The apartment was already gloriously dark. Darker than any city sky.

I belly-flopped ungracefully onto the bed and pulled the covers around me and Luna. My body felt heavy and as I focused on the covers I started losing awareness of it almost immediately. I felt myself began to drift away in the tingling tides of slumber.

Equestria was darker and quieter than normal tonight. Something was very wrong.

The street lamps, the candles in the windows, lanterns of the guards, the protective glow of the fireflies in little bedrooms…

All of the lights were gone.

I called out, my voice lost to empty halls. I was alone.

I have to find the one behind this and- How did I get here?

This is a dream.

“Oh how you wish.”

“This is a dream,” I insisted. I looked down at my hands to count my fingers and came across… blue hooves?

Looking away then back at them, expecting hands and… yes. There they were. One, two… three? I didn’t have three fingers on each hand.

“I am dreaming. I am in control.”

I turned in place and focused on my surroundings. I focused on the castle walls and hallways and windows. The world around me faded away as lucidity took over.

I normally loved pony dreams, especially lucid ones. But I didn’t want to be in this Equestria. Something was… wrong and I feared imagining another one would lead me back here, so I focused on normalcy. I thought about my room, on imagining the walls, the television, the bookshelf, the painting above it, the nook with my bed. I imagined the distances between each of the walls and focused on being there.

It was dark like usual. I drew on it until I could see the detail of the kitchen counter, the chocolate cake, then away towards my bed I saw my blankets and I even saw… myself.

That wasn’t too weird, but I saw a loose gold strand floating between us like it was in water. It was as thin as a hair, but shined with a light from within. I approached myself cautiously, careful not to snag on the floating strand or get too close.

“So I’m either having an out-of-body experience or I think I am.”

I stood there and watched myself sleeping for a dull length of time.

“Yeah okay this is boring. I’m not wasting this.” I stepped away from the nook and headed for the wall with my window on it.

I walked right through it.

I wasn’t ready for it.

“Oh my god. It’s full of stars.”

The city loomed in shadow but still sparkled like the glint of minerals in asphalt on a childhood day. But then there were the beacons: hundreds - thousands? - Of infinitely thin shafts of blue to white lights filled the city and stretched out past the stars.

The stars!

The city was a dull mirror compared to the sky’s beauty. Above me was a brilliant dark blue tapestry of pinpoints. All the stars glowed bright like they were threatening to burn out. And like a cut in a diamond, an arching scar of light bloomed over the southern horizon: the Milky Way?

This was impossible and yet strangely familiar. It was what I imagined astral projection would be like.

Curious, I flew into the city. The ground stayed distant and the sparse trees and roads passed under me. There was no wind, no flapping, no effort. It was like willing the world closer. It just made sense, it was how I always flew in lucid dreams.

Despite the city being entirely in shadow I found my way around: I was most interested in the lights. Not the static buildings or the dark, lightless cars moving along the roads.

I found a target: there was an especially bright beacon all by itself. Logic dictated to me that one was more important.

From what I could tell, almost all of the shafts of light came from inside buildings. This one however, was coming from under an overpass. There was a pile of clothes that- no.

There was a little girl sleeping. She was using a stuffed animal as a pillow. If I wasn’t led right to her I don’t think I would have seen her in the dark.

I looked around expecting an adult to be somewhere: no beacons or shadowy outlines of one awake.

I floated up and away for a second to look around and figure out where I was. I recognized this street. This was a real street in my city.

A child? Alone? The fun had stopped now: I feared this was premonition or remote viewing. What if there really was a little girl here.

I drew closer to the little girl and reached out to wake her. Before I touched her, my hand passed through her light.

Suddenly the dreamscape shifted and everything tumbled through troubling imagery. There were huge, scary dogs barking and giants whirling past and shouting. I was lost and scared and I- no, this was the little girl and her fear and confusion. A sense of doom and danger was bubbling over with her hot tears. She was in trouble for being lost. She was going to make her family worry and her brother would be so angry at her.

“That’s not true,” I spoke firm but gently. The dreamscape refocused and I could suddenly see the little girl who had been sleeping, who was still sleeping, looking around in her dream now. She was sitting on an unkempt but comfortable front lawn. I was just outside the cone of light around her, coming from a streetlight that wasn’t there.

She turned and looked right at me. I flinched when her eyes landed on me. It startled me: it felt like someone was really in front of me, really looking at me, expecting and waiting for me to react. I could see her eyes, feel them thinking.

She was still scared.

No reason to hide then.

I stepped towards her and tried my gentlest voice.

“No one is mad at you, Destiny,” I assured her. I don’t know where I got that name, she just ‘looked like a Destiny’ to me. I smiled gently at her and lowered myself so I wouldn’t be so big.

“Princess Luna? Is that really you?”

I blinked, which you don’t normally do in a dream, then looked at myself. I didn’t know what form I would have chosen in this dream but I became aware I was blue, unicorn-shaped and I could imagine wings on my back shifting in response to the question.

I looked back at Destiny. I saw the stuffed animal with her now: a Twilight Sparkle plushie! The color of beads in her hair even matched Twilight’s colors. A fellow fan!

It probably wasn’t right to lie to a child, but I could be a trustworthy figure now, not a stranger.

“Yes. It- it is I, Princess Luna,” I said, trying to sound confident. I bowed my head and stepped closer, now with audible hoof clops. “Destiny …what troubles thou?”

I had a pretty good guess already though.

“I was playing and then there was this scary dog and- and then I ran away but then I got lost. And now the street lights are on and I’m gonna be in so much trouble.”

“That’s not important. Your family is very worried,” I assured her. I was pretty sure this was just child logic. “Let’s get you home. Do you know your address?”

Sure enough, she was at the age where she could recite it. Even if she didn’t know what any of it meant. More important than the words though, I could see her home when she said it: there was a bedroom and a hallway and a front porch and a street and many other things. I’d never seen any of them before, but it looked familiar. Maybe because it was familiar to her?

She’s really not that far from home, but it would be tricky to explain to her. The street sign in her vision had fake letters. Maybe she couldn’t read yet.

While wondering how to get her home, I wondered if I’d have to wake up and come get her. Then imagined getting back to this spot in the waking world and her not being there. That would either mean she wasn’t real or she woke up and wandered off: that possibility was too uncomfortable.

“Listen to me, Destiny,” I looked her in the eyes. “This street you are on,” I pointed at the spot. We were no longer on that lawn: we were back to the overpass where I found her. “You can get home from here. You need to get up and go down the street towards…” I glanced around. “Towards the moon! Then… on 52nd street, after you’ve passed the orange cones, you need to go left…” I could see the comprehension in her eyes as I gave her the next two turns until we would be on her street. “Do you understand?”

She nodded solemnly, she understood but something was on her mind.

“What is it, Destiny?”

“...can you walk me home? It’s dark and I’m scared.”

“I- Destiny, this is a dream. I can’t… ”

“I’m dream-?” Destiny got out before everything was silenced and the world collapsed inward around her.

A little disorienting but I was standing under that overpass again. This time, the little girl giving out the bright white light was replaced with a small, squirming shadow.

She was awake.

I reached out to touch her, trying to trigger the dream communication again. My hoof stepped right through her.

“I’m sorry, Destiny… I didn’t mean to wake you up,” I talked to her.

I didn’t know if she could hear me but she stayed there.

“The directions still work though. You can get home from here. You’re not far. Do you remember the directions?” I hoped.

Again, I heard no response from the formless blackness.

Then, I thought she stirred and moved towards me.

On instinct, I stepped out of her way.

She got down to the sidewalk and stood for a moment. I imagined she was thinking.

I looked up and saw the moon. It was setting but still very visible.

She headed off in that direction.

“Oh, thank Celestia,” I said. I supervised the shadowed child down the street. She was very slow and when she stopped I would almost lose her, but she was making progress.

“It’s not that far. You see the orange cones, right?”

We got all the way to 52nd street and then I saw her stop, right past the orange construction cones. I was hopeful until I saw her start to go right.

My heart sank.

“No- no no no, left!” I shouted after her. I saw my dream vision blur. As I practiced, I started slowly spinning and taking in my surroundings. “I am in control. I am in control….” I calmed myself then once I felt stable ran after the shadowed body. I stopped in front of it and raised a hoof as if to stop her.

“Destiny, left is the other way. Go the other way.” I commanded.

To my relief, I saw the black body stop before my hoof.

Then after a heavy pause, she started moving in the opposite direction, back towards the intersection.

I sighed in relief and started walking next to her silent form again. I didn’t know if she could hear me or sense me or if she just realized her mistake, but she was headed in the right direction now.

It took an agonizingly long time and it felt like I had to goad her to move a few more times. The blue shadows of the world were turning orange. I could still make out the stars, but the sky was losing its glorious blue.

Finally, once we were on her street, she suddenly took off.

She recognized her street!

Excited as well, I followed after her until she turned and ran up an overgrown lawn. It was the house, it was ‘home'! There were lights on and several cars filled the street nearby, including a police car.

I couldn’t see or hear anyone but I felt satisfied. Accomplished, I relaxed and suddenly felt… weak.

There was a noise happening too… a vehicle? Listening closer, it was someone’s alarm clock going off.

Oh.

On waking, I found my arms wrapped around Princess Luna. We were both still on my bed, which had been tenderized from a long, glorious sleep full of lucid dreams. I felt incredibly relaxed, my body felt like it was humming, like I'd spent the entire night in a deep state of relaxation: the ultimate drug.

The only thing wrong right now was the alarm on my phone was going off somewhere. I could just make out morning light trying to slip through the cracks of the blinds, ruining the lovely, deep dark.

“What a dream,” I mumbled, trying to replay it all in my head and copy all the details down mentally before my waking mind swept it all away. The imagery with all the lights couldn’t ever leave me. I’d never forget that sky.

Eventually I got up to and found the sound of my phone on the floor by the couch. I bent over to fish it out and shut it up when I spotted something black stuck to my thigh.

Holding my phone with one hand, I tried brushing it off with the other.

It wasn’t coming off. This large black splotch…

My ass had a huge black splotch and a white crescent moon in the middle of it.

This was Princess Luna’s cutie mark. On my upper thigh. In perfect detail. It even had the extra splotches separate from the main blob.

Half-awake, I looked across the room at the plushie, trying to figure out if somehow it had rubbed off on me.

No, she still had them…

I looked at my other side.

My phone’s alarm clock was still going off but I was ignoring it because on the other side I had her cutie mark as well.

“Oh.” I unceremoniously dropped my phone and looked at my hands.

I counted my fingers… and counted exactly ten.

Looking back at my thighs I saw the cutie mark was still there. It had to be just a hallucination though.

I looked at the clock on my wall, noted the time, looked away, then looked back at it. The time didn’t change.

This had to be a dream. I rubbed my thighs until I could feel it starting to chafe. The immaculate recreation of the moon princess’s cutie mark was unmarred.

“Why can’t I wake up??”

In desperation I took my thigh between my nails and squeezed hard.

The pain made me stop immediately: I was awake.

2. Antumbra

After trying to scrub my cutie mark off in the shower and failing, I spent the better part of the morning sharing a picture of it and my dream with the Internet. People on one website thought it was a cool dream, liked the picture of my cutie mark, but didn’t believe it was real. The other’s reaction was more… mixed. I got a lot of “fake” and “gay” and eventually got banned because apparently there was a rule against “roleplaying” on the board.

I looked back down at the beautiful marks that I now owned. They were very much real. I had to assume the dream had something to do with it. I was thinking about that little girl all morning. I was tempted to go see if she was real but… I didn’t know what it'd meant if she was: then the dream was real. And even if it was real, what was I supposed to say to her and her parents? I’d just be some random stranger trying to talk to their child, claiming to be the pony princess from her dreams.

“They’d probably call the police,” I reasoned. I knew I would.

I didn’t care for breakfast food in the morning, but I decided to finally have some of my chocolate on chocolate birthday cake. The slice was rich and glorious but over too soon. High on sugar and still needing a distraction from my problems, I made a grilled cheese. It kept my hands from constantly checking for replies online. I had to figure out why I had perfect ‘tattoos’ of Princess Luna’s cutie mark. Maybe something awakened inside of me. It was my birthday. Twenty-five years was probably a significant number. That’s when the brain fully matured, I think. At no point did anyone have access to my upper thighs. I was a little undressed last night on the roof but no one else ever goes up there.

It had to be a sign.

While Googling astral projection leaving marks, I stumbled upon things about demonic possession, which I didn’t think was going to get me anywhere. Fortunately, my phone chirped and I saw I got an invitation to chat with someone.

Seeing as it was probably about the posts I made, I accepted.

“BritishQueen954,” I said his name out loud while he started typing: I guessed either gay or maybe a Queen fan.

BritishQueen954: Is this real? I have one too. Did anything else happen to you? Please get back to me as soon as possible.

FreedomOfTheMoon: Of course it’s real. Why would I lie on the Internet about something so ridiculous? Who’s cutie mark did you get?

BritishQueen954: Celestial

I groaned. Clearly he’s not a fan then.

FreedomOfTheMoon: You mean Princess Celestia.

BritishQueen954: Oh. Yes.

FreedomOfTheMoon: Well, I showed the Internet mine. Will you show me yours?

BritishQueen954: Sure I will but first did anything else change for you? Eye color? Hair color?

FreedomOfTheMoon: No. Did those change for you?

BritishQueen954: Yes. The sun tattoos showed up yesterday. Today I woke up with pink hair and eyes.

I raised an eyebrow at that. I was pretty sure this guy was messing with me now. He didn’t even do his homework. Celestia only has a little pink in her mane.

Before I called him out on it though, I thought to get up and quietly check the bathroom. I turned on the light and checked the person in the mirror: no, still brown eyes with brown hair. I flipped my reflection the bird before silently turning the light off on him and coming back to the computer.

I was greeted with a very zoomed in picture of the golden sun of Celestia’s cutie mark on someone’s skin.

“Well, that looks at least as legit as mine,” I admitted aloud.If it was a tattoo, then it was done by the same ‘artist’ who did mine: the colors were vibrant and clear like it was fresh but unbruised.

In theory someone could have gotten this done before mine showed up… actually, he did technically get it first: he said he got it early yesterday morning. Now that I thought about it, the timing was curious…

FreedomOftheMoon: You said you got it yesterday morning? Mine showed up overnight. What time zone are you in?

If his screen name meant he was in the UK, we were going to get nowhere.

BritishQueen954: Eastern Daylight. I’m in Toronto right now.

So we didn’t get them at exactly the same time.

FreedomOftheMoon: I am in Detroit. Did you have anything “magical” happen to you when you got your mark? Like the astral projection I wrote about?

BritishQueen954: My hair and eyes turned pink. I think that’s pretty magical.

“Poor bastard. I bet that looks really gay,” I mused.

I should have been scared by all of this, but honestly I was excited: finally something was happening. It felt like all of my life I was waiting for something. My love for Princess Luna was finally culminating to something. I was special and so was My Little Pony!

I knew me having this meant something: either I chose this form for it to subconsciously represent something or I had been chosen. Maybe this guy having it meant something too.

BritishQueen954: Since we’re so close, do you… want to meet up? It would be nice not to feel alone about this.

“Normie,” I mumbled. I was used to being alone. And yet… we weren’t that close. He was willing to drive hours to come see me?

FreedomOfTheMoon: Yes. Let us meet somewhere public.

I suggested a coffee shop not too far from my place, but also not too close either: still driving distance for me. I didn’t want to suggest a place too close to where I live in case "BritishQueen954" turned out to be crazy.

I killed four hours by looking into that ‘demonic possession leaving marks’ lead that went nowhere, watching a few Youtube videos about dreamwalking and astral projection and then, finally, quelling the last of the birthday messages I had received.

My parents said they wanted to see me.

I told them I was busy this weekend.

Before heading out, I checked my hair and eyes again. Nothing had changed. Just the cutie marks. It was practically 4 o’clock now. If they were going to change, when was it going to happen?

Feeling slightly doubtful, I still headed out. Despite how horrific the traffic was I still managed to show up early. The place was busy and despite two registers there was still a line.

When I got to the front I grumbled for some black coffee and snagged a seat by the door while I waited for someone to show up with pink hair. Couldn’t be too many of those.

I listened to other people talking and typing. You would think it would be quiet in a coffee shop. It was pretty busy here, being a Saturday and all. I had to remind myself I'd chosen here on purpose: there was safety in a crowd.

Eventually someone matching the description of who I was waiting for did show up: long pink hair, sunglasses, a flannel shirt, a beanie and… a purse.

It was a girl around my age. She was pretty. Not my type maybe, a bit too normal besides the hair, but pretty and with just a bit of pudge.

"BritishQueen954" was a girl?

I felt like an idiot for just assuming.

I avoided eye contact and watched her discretely. There was technically a chance this wasn’t who I was waiting for. She ordered a drink and looked around. I didn’t look any different from my normal self so she wouldn’t be able to pick me out.

After she got her drink -something that was mostly cream and sugar by the looks of it- but before she sat down, she pulled her phone out and did something on it.

My phone vibrated.

Reflexively, I checked it. She had messaged me.

BritishQueen954: Are you here yet?

I looked up and even with her sunglasses I realized we made eye contact. Sheepishly, I waved at her.

She came over, I thought she was walking weird, a bit exaggerated. I forced myself to stop paying attention to it by looking at my coffee cup.

“I take it you’re FreedomOfTheMoon?”

“I go by John in this form,” I corrected her cooly.

“I’m Kelly,” she introduced herself before sitting down across from me.

I looked at her after that, trying to figure if I had met her before. She sounded… and sort of looked familiar.

Well, might as well ask.

“...did you go to school around here?” I checked.

“No. I’m from Montreal actually.” Wow. This chick liked to travel. “I was just visiting friends in Toronto for their birthdays when… it happened.”

Like a keyword, something in my head blipped when I heard that word.

“...birthdays?”

“Yeah. They turn 25. I just turned twenty-five yesterday too.”

“No shit? Same.”

“Really?? Huh,” she pondered this. I did too. Was some kind of… power manifesting inside of us now that we were at a predetermined age? Something awakening inside of us. …but why Kelly?

Kelly interrupted my thoughts.

“So, no other changes yet, I take it?” she asked. She looked me up and down. She seemed… disappointed in me.

“None that I’ve noticed. You?”

With a frown, she hesitantly took off her sunglasses. I would’ve done a spit-take if I had my coffee in my mouth. Her irises were pink. “A few. Yes.”

She said they were pink online but seeing them in person, seeing they were real, was startling.

Unless maybe this was just an elaborate troll...

Really, how could I trust a stranger like this?

“How do I know those aren’t contacts?” I asked. She looked at me in horror like I just slapped her face.

“You think I would fake something like this?!” she raised her voice.

I countered.

“Well I don’t fucking know! How do you think I feel seeing this?!” I yelled, sitting up in my seat.

Her reaction and my guilt… were immediate. She was visibly uncomfortable and on the verge of tears.

Several other patrons turned to look at us for a second before going back to minding their own damn business. I could feel the employees watching me now because of my outburst. I had to ignore that. They wouldn’t do anything. I just had to be calm and nice.

To focus on something else I took a drink from my coffee: bitter.

After swallowing I held my breath for a second then let it out slowly.

“I’m sorry, Celly. You didn’t drive four hours to get yelled at,” I apologized.

The silence sat.

I reversed course. “I… haven’t experienced any changes. My eyes and hair are still the same.”

“Right…” she acknowledged. She seemed… defeated. Was it the yelling? I didn’t realize how sensitive this girl was. Why was I so bad at this.

“...you said you got more changes since we last talked?”

Kelly made an unpleasant face. Like the kind of face a popular girl in high school would make after you asked her out in front of all of her friends and she had to be nice while getting the uncomfortable image of you two going out out of her head.

“I… my ears and… a tail,” she mumbled into her coffee. I had to have misheard the last part so I asked about the first.

“Your ears?” I asked. I looked for those but they seemed completely covered by all the pink and the beanie.

Reluctantly, she slid her beanie up on her head, just a little. There were fuzzy white things folded down in her hair. They reminded me of floppy bunny’s ears but pointier.

Wait, ears… her ears?

When she saw my expression change into surprise and that I got the memo she pulled the beanie back down. She looked scared as she looked around and tried to recontain the mane on her head. While she did that I looked for her regular ears but I didn’t see them. I only saw those horse ears.

Those were her ears; her ears had changed.

“And I have the tail too. I’m not going to show you but… it matches the drapes,” she explained despondently.

I felt my own ears questioningly while Kelly looked on at me, desperate for some explanation as to what’s going on.

I had nothing. Nothing but… envy. Whatever this was, it was happening to her but not me. Or at the very least, way faster. She was gaining pony features! I really wanted to see that tail.

“Are you sure you didn’t do anything magical? Maybe by accident? Do you… use anything recreationally? Or…” I got desperate. “Crystals? Essential oils?? Anything??”

“No,” she admitted. “I don’t even believe in horoscopes.”

“It must have something to do with our birthdays then,” I wondered.

"My friends just turned twenty-five too and they don’t have tattoos.”

“Are you sure? Did you explicitly ask them?” I inquired.

“Well, no… but they would have told me.”

“Like how you told them?” I presumed.

The guilty look on her face told me she hadn’t. She slumped a little.

It had to be our birthdays though. We had nothing else in common. Did something happen twenty-five years ago when we were born? Some kind of… radiation hit the Earth?

“Are you sure you weren’t born around here?”

“No, I wasn’t... but I did spend a lot of time in northern Michigan with my uncle growing up. It was a little town about… here.” She raised her hand and pointed along the edge of where her thumb met her index finger; near Saginaw Bay then.

So maybe our age was still relevant. That still wouldn’t explain why ponies. It was obvious enough why I would subconsciously choose Luna but this girl didn’t even know about the show.

Did there just have to be a Celestia to my Luna? Why was she partially a pony and I just had a cutie mark then?

“I need to know how you’re transforming so fast,” I admitted. I wanted to see her tail. “Would you show me your tail? Maybe just a picture?”

Her posture changed; she withdrew a little. “I… I’d rather not.”

The greatest thing to ever happen to humanity was happening to this woman and she was being shy about it.

We sat in silence for several minutes. I unlocked my phone to check my threads. One was still locked and the other was deleted. No new messages from the one, no new threads from the other.

I looked up, she was on her own phone too but seemed more like she was doomscrolling than checking anything specific.

I wish I had something to tell her.

Oh, right.

“I’m sorry for asking to see your tail,” I apologized as an after thought.

“It’s… okay,” she said but didn’t sound like it.

Admittedly by apology was late but it was earnest.

“... you know I just want to see the tail because it’s a tail, right? It has nothing to do with your butt.”

“Right. That makes sense…” she agreed. I saw her looking at my hair and looking me in the eyes for a moment before withdrawing back towards herself again.

I went back to drinking my coffee and racking my head on how to salvage this conversation. If this was a date, I was crashing hard. Not that I had an interest in her like that. I was just curious about this apparent transformation.

We returned to silence. While she was on her phone I tried to not stare. Still, she seemed incredibly familiar…

“What's your last name?”

“...why?” she asked back. She sounded very reluctant to share that information with a stranger.

“I’m curious if we’re related. You seem familiar.”

She seemed to hesitate.

“What’s your last name?” she countered.

“Sappington,” I answered.

She shook her head.

“No, I don’t know anyone with that last name.”

She didn’t trust me.

I couldn’t blame her. I couldn’t help her…

Our coffees were eventually finished and neither of us seemed interested in getting more.

Eventually, Kelly checked her phone.

“I suppose… I should head out,” she admitted. “It’s… going to be a long drive back.”

It took her four hours to get here. She was heading back after just this.

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want her to leave. This felt wrong. She couldn’t leave!

“It… was nice meeting you,” I offered the dumbest, most empty gesture.

“You too,” she replied in kind.

I wished I could’ve invited her to stay longer. If Kelly hadn’t been a stranger or even a guy maybe I could’ve let her crash at my place while we figured this out. I wished I could’ve been helpful or known what was happening to her and apparently not to me. I wished I hadn’t been so angry and weird with her.

I was thinking of asking for her number, but I didn’t think she’d want to share it. She could just message me like she did before. I guess it didn’t matter.

We got up to throw away our empty cups. And then, like I was on auto pilot, I walked to the exit and she followed. I held the door open for her and she quietly thanked me.

I didn’t watch her go; I didn’t want to see her go. I just headed back to my Cherokee. There was this numb, rapid pulse beating through me as I walked away from her.

This felt wrong. Part of me was screaming.

After I turned the car on I immediately cut the stereo off. I just…

I drove back home in silence. Something was bubbling inside of me. I felt sick. I fucked up. Why-

No.

I cut the thoughts off and refused. In shock, I drove home numb. I pushed it all down.

I got all the way up the elevator and to my door until I couldn’t hold it anymore.

They were so hot and salty. My face flushed. My diaphragm fought me, shuddering and shaking like a dying animal suffocating inside a bag - thrown into a river.

I got inside my apartment and locked the world away. It was so dark in my apartment but I didn’t enjoy it. For the first time since I was a child, I felt scared of that dark. Not because of what could be in it, but because it was empty.

I was alone.

I fucked up. Potentially the most interesting person I had ever met drove four hours to see me.

Destiny twisted our fates together somehow and I ran her off!

And I was jealous, so envious of what was happening to her that my veins threatened to burst; I thought I was going to puke and shit myself.

I wanted to go check the bathroom mirror, hoping my hair had turned into a starry night but I knew I was going to be disappointed in myself. Once again, I had let myself down.

I needed a distraction.

Like a ghost I stepped past the kitchen and in front of the TV. I spotted the new game I'd bought the other day. Right, something else to think about.

I picked it up and turned it over to open the case: Destiny 3.

The universe was conspiring against me! Mocking me! That did it.

I screamed and threw the game case. It struck my shelf and sent games spilling onto the floor.

I had every right to scream so I did it again.

Then I fell against the faux wood floor with a heavy thud.

I was pathetic.

I stayed there for several minutes until there was a knock on my door. I tried to catch my breath and wipe my face. I understood the tears but there was so much snot and drool. I was a pitiful child. I found the strength from shear embarrassment of getting caught to stand and walk over to the door to peek outside through the peephole.

It was the crotchety old bastard who lived next to me. I didn’t want anyone to see me like this. Watching him through the peephole I saw him knock again.

Well then, I’ll just have to shout through the door then. My voice was going to shake. I was going to have to be loud enough you couldn’t tell.

I put on my anger.

“WHAT?” I yelled.

I saw the old man startle. I felt a little better from gaining control of the situation. He didn’t leave though. Instead he knocked again.

“H-Hello? Are you okay??? I heard something heavy fall and yelling!”

My anger rapidly deflated yet my heart was still beating so hard I thought my head was going to burst. Instead I choked on my own air as I fought the post-crying convulsing. I couldn’t speak.

I had to speak.

“I! AM! FINE!” I yelled. “GO A-WAY!” Snot ran shamelessly down my red face. After I wiped my face I peered again out the peephole. The nosey old boomer hesitated but eventually left me the fuck alone.

Alone again.

I felt so tired. I didn’t want to do anything anyway. I was happy to chalk the day up as a loss and go to bed until it was over.

I stripped down then defeatedly crawled into bed. My Princess Luna plushie was still there. I pushed her away and covered my eyes with my removed shirt as an impromptu sleep mask. I was too tired and upset to try and relax properly. I just pushed the thoughts away and forced my mind to be blank. Whenever the intruding thoughts came I gently pushed them away again, promising to come back to them. Not right now; I would process them later. I just… wanted nothing. I focused on the blackness, the emptiness, until that was truly my only thought.

Then eventually, the thought was exhausted and my mind slipped away.

Equestria was darker and quieter than normal tonight. Something was very wrong.

The street lamps, the candles in the windows, lanterns of the guards, the protective glow of the fireflies in little bedrooms…

All of the lights were gone. I called out, my voice lost to empty halls. I was alone.

I had to find the one behind this and undo what has been wrought.

“Show yourselves!” I called out. “...please.”

I found a window and spotted the moon alone in the night sky.

The mare in the moon was there, as they said when I was banished. And yet, I was right here!

I looked around, the dark halls were barren of answers.

“Hello?” I called out again.

My echo responded, only she didn’t come from castle halls or lofty rafters but from my shadow: ‘He’s coming’.

A cryptic response, but she never spoke to me in the waking world.

Not anymore…

I awoke in my quarters, my sanctuary silent and sealed from the outside world. Rubbing the dream sand still in my eyes, I descended from bed and immediately opened the armoire and donned the ornamental but enchanted silver armor within. If there was a threat, it would be dealt with.

I threw open my chamber windows, my seal broken, the light from outside poured in… yet it was not sister’s sun that burned gold on the horizon, but that red mountain and its awful light that had spread to Ponyville.

Fire.

“Sister!” my heart sank. Our little ponies!

Somehow, I had slept through devastation.

I scanned Canterlot for signs of the guards. The walls were empty. I had to figure out what was happening.

Before anything else, I channeled my magic. The moon responded to me and I raised her from her eastern cradle. Then I waxed the firmament and brought out the stars. There would be light, even tonight!

My presence made known, I had to leave now. Whatever did this, would come for me.

I dared it so.

I threw open the door to the hallway. Armor and weapons lay abandoned at my door, as if a battle had abruptly ended.

One of the spears looking strangely bent, I tried to pick it up. It flopped uselessly in my grasp as if it were a noodle.

I dropped it- and it slithered away.

I immediately blasted it with my horn.

Silence returned to the hallway. I retrieved a non-floppy spear.

“What is the meaning of this?!” I demanded. “Show yourselves!” I called out. “...please.”

Only the lonely wind howled.

“...sister?”

In desperation, I turned back into my room and made for the window. I leapt from the balcony and angled myself in the air. Over the empty courtyards below, I aimed my crash for the throne room.

I broke through one of the many excessive stained glass windows.

I stood before the throne.

It was empty.

“Where have you all gone? Am I dreaming?”

“Oh, how you wish,” a deep voice spoke around me. The moonlight in the broken glass shimmered.

I teleported in a burst of blue light, a panicked ten feet in front of myself. Just in time to hear the wizz and crash of glass behind me. I stumbled to catch myself and turn around to face him.

The center piece of the stained glass window rebuilt itself where I had been standing. It was a mish-mash of broken panes: a dragon body and a horse head, a wing of a bat and a bird, the claw of an eagle and a lion’s paw. Transparent and flat, he grinned at me with that one fang and those red eyes swimming in yellow sclera.

The flat panes scratched against each other as it stepped towards me.

“Discord!” I spat the serpent’s name.

“In the flesh!” he raised his arms celebratorily as he became opaque and ballooned up into his full size and dimension.

“What did thou do?!”

“Me?? I sent everyone on vacation!”

“Thou did what?”

“I gave them a holiday,” he rephrased jovially. Then he paused to reconsider his statement. “Well, most of them.”

I raised the spear until it was practically poking his muzzle.

“What did thou do to them? Bring them back! Bring them all back! Right now!”

“I can’t do that. That’s not part of the spell,” he explained. “Rules are rules.”

“Where are they?!”

“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure! Oh, except for your Nocturn and Echo. I know where they are.

“What did thou did with my guards??”

Blood-curdling screams filled the throne room and were then cut off just as sudden. Alarmed, I stole a glance, looking for the source, until I looked back at Discord. He had the spear in his clawed hand now. He was using it to idly scratch himself, as if he didn’t just hear the cries!

I startled backwards from him.

“No?” he questioned. “I suppose you don’t know what a soul being ripped from a body sounds like.”

“Monster!” I said as I charged, my horn already igniting in furry.

Discord swung the middle of his body out into a large C shape.

I anticipated a dodge. As he returned to a normal stance, I turned to reorientate myself towards him and as I did I let a horn blast carve a path across the back wall and over his body.

The laser sliced him in two, but the two halves simply reattached immediately.

“Sticks and stones, Lulu. We were both reformed, were we not?”

He dared compare my fall from grace with his deceit! I channeled my rage into another spell. I burst into smoke and scattered across the room before approaching him from several angles at once.

He looked around, just in time to see my smoke trails immediately solidify into blades that lanced into his form. I reformed around the blade I pulled from his back.

“I am NOT like thee!”

Discord was full of holes but of course, he didn’t bleed. Instead, the draconequus took the opportunity to grab me by the reforming forehoof, right around the silver greave.

His claw and lion paw immediately sizzled and burned. He didn’t let go.

“Nonsense. I made another friend! He thought your guards were delicious!”

The throne room around us warped away and was replaced by open air and an erupting volcano far below. Somehow he had teleported me despite my protection.

Instinctively I immediately started flapping my wings. I tried to pull my hoof from his grasp.

“Do you smell something burning?” he asked. Despite his skeletonizing hands, he wouldn’t let go.

“Release me!” I demanded, pulling away from him. He was trying to get me to drop the enchanted armor. I wouldn’t. He glanced down towards the raging volcanic activity below us before looking back to me. He grinned with too many teeth.

“You know, this is where I betrayed her. I broke Celestia’s back and threw her down into the pit."

I saw blood: his blood. I brought my other hoof against his face. Over and over again. His flesh sizzled and cooked. I didn’t stop until I felt his eye burst and his skull crack against my hoof.

I stopped flapping my wings. I let his body cushion our crash into the mountain below. As we skidded to a halt his limbs still grasped me. I felt his dragon tail wrap around my barrel. His exposed horse skull, full of razor-sharp predator teeth, opened on its broken jaw as if to speak.

At point-blank range, I charged my horn so hot and violently I threatened to explode. I screamed as the light filled with all of my hate and rage blinded us.

I gasped and opened my eyes. That horrible light was gone, I was back in darkness. A sliver of light cut into the bedroom and let me know that I was still home. My heart was racing, my blankets stuck to me with warm sweat. That dream was so… painful.

It was like the ending of the show but much more vivid, much more violent. I felt it all: the cold armor, the spells channeling through Princess Luna’s horn, the hooves crushing bone, the unbridled rage.

I wiped the sweat away from my eyes.

“...what a bullshit ending,” I summarized. The show started with Princess Luna’s redemption and it was obvious from how little screentime she had got throughout the show that they were trying to make up for that. They were going to show her growth and give her a chance to save Celestia this time at the end. A nice book end to the opening of the show. My theory to why it went differently is that they wouldn’t let violence be the answer and they didn’t understand the ending that was allegedly planned from the beginning. The show writers in the later seeasons were terrible that way. Thank goodness for fanfiction.

“Ruined the bucking show,” I grumbled as I peeled the covers off of my body. I saw the cutie mark on my thigh again. The embarrassment of the day hit me like a brick wall all over again.

It was appropriate I'd dreamt about Princess Luna failing to protect her ponies or her kingdom; I fucked up today too.

“...I’m sorry, Princess,” I apologized. I didn’t know what force gave me this cutie mark, but maybe it was some kind of bad spirit or something. I still didn’t know why either.

I sat up in a hunched-over position on the edged of the bed. I looked over and spotted my Princess Luna plushie had fallen onto the floor. Something fell over my eyes and blocked my view of her. Thinking it was a blanket I pulled it out of the way and it fell in front of my eyes again. Wait, it was attached to my head…

“My hair?” That got me up. I walked across the apartment and into the bathroom. I flicked the light on.

My eyes adjusted to the light and I saw the tall bastard in the mirror… with long blue hair. It was happening to me, just like Celly.

…I looked ridiculous.

I looked closer at my reflection. My dull brown eyes were gone. Someone else’s bright blue eyes stared back at me. I knew whose, too.

I was still excited, but after my failure with Celly and that apocalyptic dream… I wasn’t smiling. I was wary.

Magic, real magic, was at play here and if this was a true metamorphosis, then I didn’t know what the limits were. If magic was manifesting in this world and causing changes, then who knew what was going to happen.

I wondered where my ‘Celestia’ was by now. I went to the counter and found my phone to check. Several hours had passed since we talked. I logged into the app and saw she hadn’t messaged me since.

I opened the chat anyways.

FreedomOfTheMoon: My eyes and hair have changed. I don’t know where you are now but I could come meet you this time? It would be nice to not be alone right now.

I reread my message a few times while I waited.

I sounded pathetic. And like I was lying. I wondered if I should send a picture as proof or something when I saw the text say that she was typing.

BritishQueen954: I’m still in town.

“What? Really?”

BritishQueen954: Could I come to your place?

Chapter 3. Ponies

I gave her my address and then went to wait outside the front of the building, just across the street from the guest parking area so I could direct her where to park. The sun had already started to set, oranges already given way to blues, so it wasn’t too bad outside. It was normally quiet in the part of the city where I lived, which was why I lived there.

So, after I noticed two men sitting in a minivan at the edge of the guest parking lot, I was having none of it. It was probably some kind of drug deal. I wasn’t going to have sketchy people or gang activity around when Kelly showed up in whatever state she was in.

I brought up my building’s security phone number and called them.

The number rang and after a bit they answered.

“City Shield. How can I help?”

“There’s some suspicious guys parked outside of my apartment building. Pretty sure it’s a drug deal or gang activity,” I said as I watched the vehicle.

There was a pause on the other end of line before he responded.

“...John?” he made sure. I had admittedly called them a few times before.

“That’s me.” There was silence on the other end for a moment, probably while he grabbed a pen and paper.

“Where’s the activity exactly?”

“In the guest park-” I stalled when I saw the headlights on the van turn on and heard their engine start. They started backing out of their spot. Did they hear me somehow?

“John? Still there?”

“They’re moving now… they were in the guest parking lot across the street. I think they realized what I am doing.”

“Can you describe the vehicle?”

I gave him all the info I could but I missed the license plate.

“Alright, John. Well, we’ll give your building some extra attention tonight. Don’t you worry. Call us if you see anything else.”

“Right, okay. Thank you,” I agreed and hung up. Whatever. The important thing was they were gone now.

Not a minute too soon either: I saw Kelly’s vehicle pull up.

She idled out in front of the building and I approached her passenger side. She lowered her window and I ducked low to make eye contact with her.

She looked about the same as the last time I saw her: pink hair and eyes, just with an obvious bump under her beanie now; a horn? She looked maybe a bit more composed now.

“Hey,” I greeted her. I felt a hint of a smile relieve my frown.

“Hello again,” she smiled back.

“So, that’s my home,” I pointed back over my building. “You can park over there,” I directed her over the other way.

She quietly nodded and went to park not too far where the weirdos had been earlier. I followed after on foot, not knowing if she needed help with anything.

I stood by when she shut off her car and got out. She stumbled a bit. I braced my arms to tentatively catch her but she held her driver’s side door and tried to steady her feet.

“Are you… okay?” I asked cautiously. She got her car door shut, steadying herself with the rest of the car. The way she stood on her tiptoes and her bulging shoes slid around, it was like her feet were broken. It took me a second to figure out that her shoes were way too short and narrow for her now: there was a bulge on the back of her legs, where her calves normally would be. Those were her ankles? The length of her feet had more than doubled.

“You’re… not into hooves, are you?” she asked warily, snapping me back to attention. Whoops. I was staring again.

“...hooves?” I asked.

“Yeah. Looks like you’re on your way too,” she said, gesturing to my own feet.

I looked down, and was disappointed to see I was doing the weird tip-toe walk she had been doing back at the coffee shop. I sort of noticed it but thought I had been nervous or something. I had been doing that the entire time out here though, hadn’t I?

I put my ankles back down, but didn’t like the strain on my calves: I felt more balanced on my toes now actually.

So it was finally beginning for me in earnest.

“...John?” she spoke up quietly.

I looked up from our feet and Kelly’s eyes met mine again. Her pink eyes softened.

“Can we go inside?” she asked politely.

I frowned, but apologetically so, and nodded.

Kelly smiled back before she grabbed her purse and locked her car

She held onto my shoulder and I helped steady her on her shoe-adorned hooves.

We quietly crossed the street to my building.

I scanned my door key and with her arm on me, we made it to the elevator. I punched the up button and we stepped inside. She grabbed the rail inside while I hit my floor button.

As the elevator door shut, she breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little.

“So,” I started. “Have you just been driving around?”

“Yes and no. I made a few phone calls. I’m going to go meet up with my friends up north. It seems to be be happening to them too. My boyfriend is going to be really surprised.”

“What??” I asked surprised. “So, it’s not just the two of us then.”

“I know! Isn’t that great?”

I felt somewhat disappointed. If Kelly knew other people this was happening to, then did I? Or was I just the outlier.

I thought I had caused this somehow, but maybe this all actually revolved around her. She seemed to be ahead of me, like it started with her first.

“So, are they going to come and get you? You needed a place to crash?” I asked. My sense of importance was slipping away.

“If that’s okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I guess,” I agreed without looking at her.

There was a pregnant pause before she spoke again.

“I was also wondering if maybe you wanted to come with us?”

I wasn’t some charity case! I was important in this too!

I ground my teeth instead of yelling.

“You don’t know me,” I decided to say instead. It was supposed to be a biting reminder that I was just a stranger, but it sounded more like angst.

“I would like to,” she assured. I wondered if she was just being nice to me because she needed a place to crash or if it was because now she was sure we were in the same boat.

A smile on her face perked up before she spoke again. “Did you know you made the news?”

“What?” I asked. That brought my attention back to her.

Kelly was already swiping on her phone to quell my curiosity. She turned it around and presented her screen to me.

Fortunately, my picture wasn’t in a paper and it wasn’t exactly front news, but I saw the title of the little online article.

Missing Girl Safe at Home After Dream from Princess Pony

In a heartwarming turn of events, a missing girl has been reunited with her family after she reappeared at her home yesterday morning. The four-year-old had been reported missing yesterday afternoon, prompting a frantic search by local authorities and volunteers. According to her parents, she claimed that she had received guidance in a dream from "Princess Luna," a character from the children's show "My Little Pony," which helped her find her way back…

I smiled.

“...Destiny,” I said.

“That’s the girl you helped from the dreamwalk, right?“

“It is.”

The elevator dinged, signaling we made it to my floor. I quietly stepped towards her and she took my offered arm again to steady herself. Just to the right and after one corner, we were home. The way Celly swayed on her shoes and gripped me, it almost felt like I was bringing a drunk girl home.

“You probably get this a lot, but you’re pretty tall. What are you, 6’3?” she asked idly.

I stumbled a little bit and Celly has to take an extra step to steady herself. I’ve never had anyone guess so low. A lot of people usually assumed I was straight up seven foot.

“...6’6” actually,” I corrected.

“Really?? You don’t seem that tall.”

“You’re on your tip toes.”

“So are you,” she pointed out.

Well, whatever. We were at my door. I unlocked it and hesitated before I flicked the lights on; she would probably prefer that. We stepped inside so I could close the door and immediately lock it back.

“Oh! Nice place,” she complimented it. I assumed that was just something you were supposed to say when you entered someone’s home for the first time. Well, since we’re following scripts.

“Make yourself at home,” I said and gestured.

Celly took the opportunity to lean against the wall and remove her shoes, or at least, she attempted to. She failed. They seemed stuck.

She stepped over to my kitchen counter to lean against that and try again. Undoing the laces more to put more slack in them, she finally pulled it free with a sigh of relief. Her sock went with her shoe.

We both stared in silence at the state of her exposed ‘foot’: it seemed impossible. It seemed fake still. It was like someone had swapped her foot out for a white horse hoof. From the hoof to the leg of her jeans was nothing but a short white coat.

After a moment, she had to move on. Her bare hoof made a ‘clip’ on my kitchen floor as she set it down to get the other shoe off.

With more of the same effort, she freed her other hoof and held the counter as she stood ‘bare-hoof’ in my kitchen area. We both looked at her ‘feet’, not sure how either of us should react to this. They were gone; hooves now. Still catching her breath, she lifted one slightly and I think she tried to ‘wiggle’ it because her ‘foot’ bent down and up right above the hoof.

They were absolutely horse hooves. Attached to her. A hooved human was standing in my kitchen. It was incredible and surreal. If they were my own I think I would have touched them. Instead we both kept a respectable distance but couldn’t look away just yet.

After a bit, Celly seemed still unsure but done trying to process this for now. She put her hoof back down. I watched her carefully let go of the counter and then after an unsteady moment relax.

“Huh,” she said as she lifted a leg and put it back down. Despite standing on hooves, she seemed more stable now. “Well. I hope you don’t mind,” she finally said.

“No, no, you’re fine!” I assured.

With my approval Celly carefully turned and clip-clopped out of my kitchen to look around the living room.

“Oooo~. I like your painting,” she gestured to the wall over my bookshelf.

“Hm? Oh. Thank you. I like it too,” I agreed dumbly. “It’s Princess Luna and the night sky.” Also dumb, that was obvious enough. I guess I didn’t know how to respond.

“So,” she started. She seemed to be tasting the words before she said them. She gestured to the painting. “This is what you’re turning into?”

I eyed our Midnight’s Majesty. It was admittedly still an unhinged idea… but this woman had hooves so it was within our current realm of possibilities now.

“Maybe,” I agreed coyly.

“Doesn’t all of this,” she gestured to all of herself, “scare you?”

I looked at the bump under her beanie and her big pink eyes before eyeing her hooves again. Maybe it was my contrarian nature, but I felt myself less scared than when I reached back out.

“I’m scared but I want to see. It’s a bit like a trainwreck, I guess.”

“Even the whole princess-princess thing? Luna’s a female horse, right?”

“A mare, yes,” I corrected then shrugged. “I’m turning into a real copy of the greatest character ever, who is a winged unicorn. Also, apparently magic is real because I don’t know how else this happened. So, I don’t care what genitals this comes with. In fact, I’d be upset if it wasn’t perfect.”

Celly seemed surprised by my response and maybe a little… squeamish? I suppose a normal person would be freaking out but I was hardly a normal person. At least she seemed to be coping better now.

“You’re a big fan of My Little Pony, huh?”

“You could say that.”

She couldn’t see the terabytes of ‘pony’ I had on my computer, and I thought considering the nature of a portion of it, she wouldn’t want to see it. I would need to contain my ‘power level’, at least a little bit.

I walked over to my bookshelf and pulled the the season 1 DVD collection of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic to show her.

“Do you want to see why?” I offered. She didn’t seem too enthusiastic about it. I made the box dance in my hands a little to make it seem more exciting.

“...would it help our situation?”

“It might actually,” I readily agreed. “I took a nap earlier and I dreamed about the finale with Princess Luna and…” my voice died when my eyes met her pink ones.

“What?” she questioned me.

I couldn’t tell her. Not yet. I didn’t want to tell her.

“We should start from the beginning for your sake,” I assured her. “Context is important.”

She seemed puzzled by me changing the subject but let me drop it. She eyed the box again.

“...how many episodes are there?”

“Uh… more than a hundred.”

I saw the fear in her eyes: a brony lured her to his apartment and now she was trapped and had to watch My Little Pony with him.

“We don’t need to watch all of them. Although you should, eventually. We just need to start from the beginning.”

Celly sighed. I saw her resistance waning.

She would succumb to pony. It’s not like she had a choice in the matter, considering our current situation. I phrased my persuasion better out loud. “Consider it educational: the more you know, the more context you have for what’s happening, the better.”

Without any final agreement I went to go put the first disc in. Behind me, I heard Celly clip-clop over towards the couch. I tried to hide my smile at the sound after I finished and turned around to grab my game controller for a remote and sat down next to her.

The DVD started.

My Little Pony, My Little Pony~

I couldn’t help but watch her face as the main menu came on. There was a mix of apprehension… and curiosity on her face.

She was ready. I pressed Play and let the pilot start.

Princess Celestia: Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land…

We watched as Nightmare Moon was defeated by Twilight Sparkle and her friends with the Elements of Harmony in a swirl of rainbow light. I had seen this over a dozen times. It was so nostalgic for me. I struggled to look away from the actual scene in order to gauge Celly’s reaction to the scene instead. She was transfixed; most people who gave the show a chance really liked the way this wrapped up.

Princess Celestia was talking to Twilight Sparkle about what she had done.

Princess Celestia: ...but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now if only another will as well. Princess Luna!

Little Season 1 Princess Luna, standing in the remains of her smoking armor, gasped hearing her name being spoken by her.

Princess Celestia approached her with a gentle look on her face and spoke again.

Princess Celestia: It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister.

Celly spoke up next to me.

“Wait, that’s Luna? She looks smaller,” she pointed out. I put out a hand to tell her to hold on, the episode was almost over.

Princess Celestia: Will you accept my friendship?

The music swelled at the intimacy between two immortal beings, separated by so much time. Everypony was leaning forward.

Princess Luna: I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!
Princess Celestia: I've missed you, too.

The princesses embraced in an emotional scene, Pinkie Pie began crying extra hard before gasping in realization.

Pinkie Pie: Hey, you know what this calls for? A party!

We cut back to Ponyville, everypony coming out: happy ponies cheering the triumphant return of both of their princesses and the defeat of Nightmare Moon. After a few moments of celebration, the music faded down as we focus back on Twilight Sparkle. It was adorable how glum she was. She admitted she didn’t want to leave her friends and go back to Canterlot to study magic.

Princess Celestia: Spike, take a note, please. I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville.

I couldn’t help but smile at the setup for the premise of the show. The joy filling Twilight’s eyes, the swelling of music, the group hug.

I looked at Celly was who smiling as well. She seemed happy but also like she was waiting for something to end. The episode? Celly caught on to my questioning and tried to pull her hand away from- oh!

“You’re holding my hand,” she pointed out.

I quickly pulled my hand away from hers.

“Sorry,” I offered. “I didn’t realize.”

“It was cute,” she assured me.

I accepted her downplay of my subconscious grab at intimacy. I really didn’t think of her like that! There was something about her. She was too… I don’t know. I worried if I assured her of that too much though that would just make it weirder. So, back to the topic... at hand.

“So, what did you think?” I asked.

“It was cute. I can see why people like it,” she agreed before pivoting. “So, why does Luna look younger here? Is there a timeskip?”

“...sort of? The fan theory brought down by a show writer is that this is her powered-down form, she was just defeated so she has no magic in her. They change her to her regular look the next time we see her.”

“So does she get the flowy mane like Celestia?”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“And does she get… darker?” Celly asked with a careful smile. I saw her eyes pivot towards my hair before quickly coming back to rest on my face.

“Of course,” I agreed but the wheels in my head started turning faster and faster and time seemed to slow as a result.

“What does that mean?” I asked aloud more at her actions than her words.

Celly gave me a mischievous smile as grabbed her beanie to slide it off of her head. For the first time, she revealed her tall, white horse ears on the side of her head. I could see the slight pink of both ears beneath the velvety-short white hairs on them, both of the ears were turned towards me. I checked the bump on her forehead as an afterthought, just to be sure it was there and indeed a pseudo horn was forming.

I had to close my jaw before I started collecting flies.

“It means: welcome to the horse ear club, little sister,” she teased.

I felt my face flush red. I stood up immediately and headed for the bathroom to hide the blush even though she already saw. At least she wasn’t laughing.

Now that I was standing, I realized something had been bunching up in my pants since I sat down. It was like someone had stuffed something down back there.

I clicked on the light and checked the bathroom mirror.

I couldn’t believe I didn’t realize earlier. I guessed since Celly’s mane wasn’t quite right I didn’t question why mine was a lighter blue. Now nestled in the much longer blue mane on my head I saw my ears had been changing. They didn’t quite look like horse ears yet, but with how impossibly long and elf-like they were and the soft light blue coat growing on them, it was undeniable what was happening.

And the color! Why was it-

I leaned in closer thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me. I could see the blue slowly growing over my ears, like a blue moss rapidly growing out of control.

I felt my blue ears and felt the muscle under them flex. The ears turned almost forty-five degrees but the muscle control wasn’t quite there yet. They were also definitely moving up the side of my head towards their final destination too. I didn’t know how that worked, possibly that my skull was changing in real time. I couldn’t even feel the changes, just witness them and hallucinate that I could feel them.

It was all too gradual- and I was ignoring the elephant in the room.

I knew what color Princess Luna’s coat was. This wasn’t it. Or rather, this wasn’t her regular form.

I was becoming her powered down form.

This… was still amazing but a lot less awesome. I could only speculate, frozen in front of my bathroom mirror. My first guess was maybe I would become her full form after this first transformation ran its course.

My fear was that maybe there wasn’t enough “magic” in this world to reach her full form. I didn’t like the idea of being small. I hadn’t been small since I was like twelve.

After watching my ears for a few more minutes and pondering what this all meant, on top of still not knowing how this transformation began in the first place, I decided to quickly check myself for the changes that had occurred to Celly.

I checked my feet and was only mild disappointed to just find my middle toes were just wider: not yet.

Toes always looked weird anyways. This wasn’t that interesting.

I pulled down my pants though and saw what that bundle of hair stuck against my ass was: such hair!

I had fantasized about this day for years. I ran my hand through it, it was like there was a mane coming from above my ass. Which was a little underwhelming of a way to put it, because I still had a tail! The best tail too! Out of curiosity, I tried pulling it and felt the tug down my spine.

I instantly regretted that.

“God that feels weird,” I mumbled. I also had a lot more length to the flesh of my tail than I realized.

I moved it manually with my hands. I didn’t have control over it. Maybe not yet.

“Soon,” I promised myself.

Satisfied, I pulled my pants back on but let my tail hang out. I wasn’t going to hide my glorious blue tail. I walked back out to rejoin Celly on the couch.

As she looked up from her phone I saw her ears naturally turn to face me. She spotted my tail.

“Letting it all hang out, huh? Are you good?” she asked.

“I’m not hiding my tail,” I explained.

She nodded assuringly. “Notice any other changes?” she asked gently. I wasn’t sure what she was getting at.

“No? Should I have?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Maybe later then,” she brushed it off. Considering what I was keeping to myself, I let her have it. She looked back to the TV. “Should we watch the next episode?”

I thought about it for a second: Ticketmaster.

“Well… that’s only a little related but it does technically have Celestia in it… yeah, I guess. We’ll just do the highlights. I need to give you a crash course on Celestia. We’ll do A Bird In The Hoof after that.”

“Whatever you say,” she agreed. “Anything that could help.”

“Before we start, are you hungry? Thirsty?” I offered. I did have a guest here after all. “I could make something, but I also have cake.”

I saw from her big, white horse-y ears that I had piqued her interest. I couldn’t help but grin.

Maybe she and Celestia had more in common than we realized.

I was having a good time showing her episodes. I could have cooked us something but I ended up throwing a frozen cheese pizza in instead. I didn’t want to waste time cooking; I wanted to get to Luna Eclipsed and I would've been damned if I showed her episodes out of order.

To my surprise, while we were watching A Bird In The Hoof I got a message. Not just from someone wanting to wish me a belated Happy Birthday either.

ChlorophyllRag: This might be a stupid question but was this real? I think this happened to me too I thought my friend was pranking me but then something happened

I sat up.

“Oh shit. We got another,” I informed Celly.

FreedomOfTheMoon: Yes. What happened? Did things change? I believe we are in the same boat then. Can you show me your cutie mark?

ChlorophyllRag: ya one sec

I had my hooves crossed we were going to get a Twilight Sparkle or maybe a Star Swirl The Bearded. Celly had different ideas.

“Check their profile history to see if they’re real,” Celly suggested over my shoulder. Honestly, a good idea.

I did so and saw they had years of posts but nothing that made me think they played pranks or liked to cause drama. No obvious pony content either.

“They look real…” I said hopeful. We got another message from ChlorophyllRag. This one was indeed a picture.

Someone’s upper thigh with a cutie mark of… a cupcake with a strawberry on top?

FreedomOfTheMoon: I don’t recognize the pony. Do you know who you’re turning into?

ChlorophyllRag: You mean the hair? Ya i look totally gay it’s gold and pink now

That’s a ‘no’ then. Celly was curious so I showed her the picture too when I got another message from them.

ChlorophyllRag: Your not in Detroit are you?

“Oh wow. A local one.” Maybe Detroit was relevant! Maybe it was this part of the world this was happening to.

FreedomOfTheMoon: I could be in Detroit. Do you want to meet up there somewhere?

Celly paused the episode, which I was thankful for, I didn’t want her to miss this one.

ChlorophyllRag: It’s getting pretty late and I don’t have a car. Do you know where O’Shea Park is?

I didn’t but a quick Google search told me it was on the west side.

Of course it was.

Unfortunately, this was important and their cutie mark looked genuine.

After some more conversation, we agreed to meet there in two hours.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Celly offered.

“It’s on the west side.”

“What does that mean? Is it dangerous?”

“Yes. There’s more crime over there. There’s… gangs,” I explained vaguely. Poverty bred crime.

“Should I come then? To protect you?” I didn’t know what she could do, especially in her state: her horn was getting longer by the hour. I didn’t think that beanie could go back on over it.

No, she was under my roof. I didn’t want her to be put in any danger.

“They have a cutie mark. I think it would be safer if I met them and bring them back only if they seem safe. I didn’t mention you.”

She seemed like she wanted to argue but didn’t.

So, I unpaused the episode. I really wanted to get through season one and the beginning of season two. If this lady was going to become Princess Celestia, I’d be second-hand embarrassed if she met another pony and doesn’t know anything about herself.

“That was really cute,” Celly summarized her feeling over the ending credits of The Best Night Ever. It was a good episode. It seemed like such a humble finale in retrospect. “Where were you? Why didn’t you go to the gala?”

“It would have been my first official reappearance since exile. I wasn’t going to let it be the gala. Not for those Canterlot snobs.”

“When do you show up then?” Celly asked.

“In Luna Eclipse, I, huh… ” I stopped myself, stumbling over my words for a moment. What was I… right! “...Luna shows up in season 2 episode 4. We need to watch all the season 2 episodes up to that though.” I liked the Discord two-parter, even if it felt… unsettling. The week between part 1 and part 2 was a wild time with lots of speculation of how exactly they were going to resolve it. On reflection, there was a lot of unnecessarily dark speculation about our toy commercial targeting little girls. They never split up two-parter episodes again like that. Probably too many distraught children.

I realized I had been spacing out because Celly had got up on her own to retrieve the season two DVD collection from my bookshelf. I smiled at her eagerness until I realized she wasn’t just looking for the DVD.

“Have you read all these?” she asked. Her eyes seemed to have glazed right over the DVDs and video games and went to the books.

“Um, yeah? Mostly,” I agreed. I got up and retrieved the last season 1 disc to put it back into the case. “Some of them are just references and collections though.” I explained. “Like, I haven’t read all the Robert Frost poems.

She nodded as she continued reading through the spines.

“You weren’t exactly easy on some of these,” she said. I looked up in time to see she went to pull out my beat up copy of The Catcher In The Rye that was missing most of its spine. I heard the front rip slightly as she barely stopped the book from falling apart.

“Careful!” I said as I rushed over to grab it from her. She let me take it back. “The damaged ones are second-hand.” I explained as I carefully slid it back into its spot on the shelf. “They’re just as cheap as digital but you get to actually hold them- assuming you don’t damage them further.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-” Celly put up her hands as she stepped back.

There was a crunch, the sound of her goodwill getting stepped on.

We both looked down. Celly raised a hoof to reveal a disc cracked in half.

‘Oh no,’ I saw her mouth.

I saw the open game case next to it and realized what she had just stepped on: Destiny 3!

The air had escaped my body in shock, I had to suck it back in before I could speak.

“Oh god dammit! Really??”

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t see it on the floor.”

“Yeah, no shit,” I said as I stepped away from her to fume. I took a deep breath and held it.

It’s not her fault. She should’ve seen it but it’s not her fault. It was just on the floor from when I threw it. I should have picked it up. I was more just mad at the situation.

“Is it rare? Even if it is, I’ll buy you a new one,” Celly offered apologetically. That caused my hands to curl into fists.

“I don’t want a new one!” I screamed and saw I startled her. “It’s broken! A new one doesn’t unbreak it!”

I didn’t think she got it. Maybe I was overly sentimental. It’s not that that game was anything to me yet, but I loved the first two games and was looking forward to playing that one. That one was going to be my copy. Now that copy was broken. Now there’s one less copy in the world.

“I’m really sorry,” she apologized again. I saw her bend over to try and reclaim the pieces. It seemed really difficult and I stared at the sight: her legs were getting really long and her thighs… were compacting?

She collapsed a few feet from the gound. Not enough for a massive thud, but she collapsed like a drunkard. While she was on the ground I saw she was more interested in finally getting the pieces instead of getting up.

Well that wasn't fair. Now I felt bad. I wanted to be angry longer.

With the disc pieces rattling around in the case now, she was struggling to get to her hooves again. She didn’t grab the bookshelf to help herself up, much to my relief.

I sighed and approached her.

“...hey, here,” I offered my hands and myself to help.

“...thanks,” she mumbled as as she accepted and got back to her hooves and got her mane back under control.

I had to check her white hooves again because it seemed like she was standing on her tip-toes again somehow; she was almost at eye level with me.

“...you’re getting taller,” I explained my staring.

She looked over herself and at me. She seemed… upset?

“...how big is Celestia?” she asked unsure about something.

“I don’t know. Maybe six foot? Human height.” I guessed.

“If I’m not mistaken, I’m a lot taller than that already.”

That she was. I nodded.

Celly quietly rested the Destiny 3 game case on on its side on top of the other game cases.

We needed answers.

Unfortunately, the only thing I could think to do was show her more pony. I put my season one case back onto the shelf and pulled out the season two DVD.

I thought about my dreamwalking and about the strange nightmare I had with Discord and the finale.

We couldn’t put off introducing Discord any longer.

“It’s time for you to meet Discord,” I warned her.

It really was terrifying just how overpowered and indifferent Discord was.

Celly seemed transfixed when Discord began talking to her cartoon counterpart. The effect they put over DeLancie’s voice gave him an otherworldly quality.

I'd still argue that The Mane Six had just caught him on a good day and put him away before he thought to do something worse on a whim. We saw from Discord’s terrifying glass window that he was capable of so much worse: the way he seemed to pull puppet strings of ponies dangling over fire. He was just about as dark of a villain as you could get away with for a children’s cartoon; most of his terror was just implied.

“This isn’t the finale, is it?” Celly asked me during the credits. Maybe she thought I had skipped ahead. “Does he come back?”

“He does. Celestia eventually lets him out so that the main characters could reform him,” I explained.

I felt… the air in the room change. It was like the song over the credits had become quieter. I realized Celly was deep in thought.

“And you said he betrays them. She let him out and he betrays them?”

“I guess so. Yeah,” I agreed.

“...so it’s her fault and I’m turning into her?” she asked contemplatively. I had never thought about it like that.

“I mean, I guess? But they’re ponies, of course they’re going to try to make friends.”

Celly nodded quietly but didn’t seem to change her opinion.

After the strange uneasiness of Return of Harmony, I was, for once, relieved for the zainess of Lesson Zero and Twilight Sparkle acting silly and making meme faces at the camera. Plus, we got to see more of Celestia’s personality shine through with her just letting the ponies apologize when they did nothing wrong: good ol’ Trollestia. Of course her friends defended Twilight and it all worked out nicely with the ponies wanting to help Twilight make friendship reports from now on so she wouldn’t ‘get in trouble’ with needing one every week.

Finally, finally, after the past few episodes and a bathroom break, we got to Luna’s first real episode: Luna Eclipse.

I always thought it was really cute how she made her big reappearance to her subjects in Ponyville. It made perfect sense after you thought about it: they welcomed her last time she was there. Luna probably didn’t understand Nightmare Night, it may have meant something else in her time but she understood it was a nighttime holiday vaguely connected to her so she was intrigued.

Unfortunately, she was bigger and, yes, darker now, so she was more intimidating than the last time she stopped by. She looked more like Nightmare Moon again.

We had finished off the pizza a while back and were now sharing a bowl of popcorn between the two of us.

Twilight Sparkle: Dear Princess Celestia,
When you first sent me to Ponyville, I didn't know anything about friendship. I met somepony tonight who was having the same problem—your sister, Princess Luna! She taught me that one of the best things you can do with friendship is to give it to others, and help them find it themselves! And I'm happy to report that all of Ponyville has learned that even if somepony seems a little intimidating, even scary, when you offer them your friendship, you'll discover a whole new pony underneath. And even if my Star Swirl the Bearded costume didn't go over, this still turned out to be the best Nightmare Night ever!

“Cute episode,” Celly commented.

I nodded in agreement. It was one of my favorite. I supposed that would have been obvious though. “Did you notice the ponies pulling Luna’s chariot were batponies? With bat wings?”

“Oooh. They were, weren’t they? What does that mean?”

“Show staff says they are their own race. Very rare though… the fandom named the ones we see Nocturn and Echo,” I offered. I hesitated and decided not to share what happened to them in my dream. I needed to recheck the finale’s exact canon dialogue. Pretty sure he didn’t actually say their souls were ripped from their bodies on the show. We would get to it. Although maybe not tonight: it was getting late.

I checked the time on my phone. I really needed to get going soon.

“What are all the pony races?” Fair, I just brought up bat ponies existing.

“Unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, …alicorns,” I point to the two of us before continuing. “Bat ponies, …and crystal ponies. Those are like a shiny earth pony.” Admittedly an oversimplification.

Celly thought about that for a second before asking her next question: “So, alicorns are like a super unicorn?”

“No. We’re distinct. We’re all three of the base races: wings, horns and earth pony strength.”

“So there’s no other unicorn race?” I cocked my head in confusion. “You got bat ponies for the pegasi and crystal ponies for the earth ponies.”

“Uh…” I reconsidered my previous statements. There were other races, but I didn’t know where the line was drawn. They probably had to have cutie marks, I figured? So not breezies. Not Saddle Arabians.

Well, then what was in the comics? ‘A unicorn alt…’ “I suppose there are the shadow ponies, the umbrum. They have horns?” They had wings too but wasn’t Sombra one or something? I didn’t pay much attention to the comics. I would get around to reading them someday. “They’re mostly in the comics though and there’s just hints of them. Those aren’t really fleshed out in canon.”

“Oh,” Celly responded quietly. “So do you think this is going to follow canon?”

“Honestly, it reads like fanfiction,” I grumbled. “So, probably not. Whatever is doing this is just doing whatever it wants.”

“Are there ever humans in the show that become ponies?”

“No. There’s not… but there are ponies who become humans in the spin-off,” I admitted reluctantly. I checked my phone again. Yeah, I needed to head out.

I stood up.

“Wait, there’s a spin-off where ponies become humans? Why haven’t we watched that?”

“It’s not ponies,” I said with a half-hearted shrug. I didn’t want to watch Equestria Girls. “Listen. I’m heading out to check on that Chlorophyll guy. If you want to watch Equestria Girls or read the comics, help yourself,” I said, gesturing vaguely to the shelves. “Also, uh, help yourself to the food in the fridge…”

I saw Celly eye the fridge and maybe the cake on the countertop before looking back to me as I was heading to the door. She stood up.

“Hey, wait, be careful,” she warned.

“I will be,” I promised. This would be the weirdest robbery; whoever messaged me definitely had a cutie mark like us and was going through the same transformation. We could help them a lot more than any of my stolen debit cards could.

“Lu-John?” Celly called to me. I looked over at the half-transformed Celestia standing in my living room. Even at her height, with that long pink hair and those large, worried pink eyes she looked… vulnerable. She was hesitating, trying to say something.

I felt awful for leaving her like this but she couldn’t come. I wouldn’t let her. She was safer here. I wouldn’t let her leave me again.

“Do you need something while I’m out?” I guessed.

That wasn’t it though, was it? There was something strange growing between us.

“John, give me your phone number; in case something happens.”

I agreed to that and gave her my number while she punched it in. It was technically night time and I was going to the bad part of town. I supposed something could happen that doesn’t involve the strawberry cupcake guy.

“Alright, um…” I went to open the door and hesitated. I turned back to her. She was still standing there, watching me go. “Don’t let anyone in, okay? And don’t leave.”

“I won’t,” she promised.

And with that, I left and locked my door back behind me. By the time I got downstairs and to my car I saw I got a text message from a new number. I knew who it was from:

“Be safe.”

I went to save the contact and almost put her name down as “Celestia” as a joke but I backspaced and put “Kelly” instead.

I pulled out of my spot and started the GPS. O’Shea Park. It was a short night drive. I liked the roads like this. I had just enough time to dodge the potholes, but more importantly, there was just less people.

And hopefully, there would be more ponies soon. I smiled at the thought and silently turned my music back up as I drove.

…once lived in me a great fire
But it's been cooled by overwhelmed desire
There's a crater but it's just bone deep
And it deepens every time I sleep...

O’Shea Park was a dump with plenty of trash scattered about the parking lot. I could see from the street the graffiti on the locked and abandoned public restrooms. That said, it was lit up, which was how I could even tell. So that was something.

There was no one else in the parking lot, considering there was no parking this late. He said he didn’t have a car though. I thought I was going to have to wait until I spotted him.

There was only one person here, over by that bathroom. They were just far away enough they were just an outline of baggy clothes, a hat and sunglasses at night. Which, considering the transformation that was happening, made sense.

I questioned for a moment what I was doing. Helping a stranger? Because they were becoming a pony? I watched them walk, there was an odd gait to their walk, which again, may have tracked.

It was a little late for my self-preservation instincts to be kicking in.

I turned my car off and reached across my seats to the glovebox. I pulled out my knife in its holster and pocketed it before stepping out of my car.

The man wasn’t all that tall or intimidating looking, which worked in my favor.

“Evening,” I greeted in a large voice as I approached, trying to take command of the interaction.

“FreedomOfTheMoon?” a voice asked, deeper than I had expected.

“It is I,” I confirmed. “I take it you are ChlorophyllRag?”

We got close enough I could see how face now. He looked… older than I expected.

He smiled and shook his head. “Nope!”

I had a split second to be confused as I saw his hand raised and see he had a gun.

“Oh god dammit,” I cursed aloud, which seemed to make him smile. “Listen, dude, I don’t have anything of value on me. You want my phone? It’s a few years old but it’s good.”

I didn’t get time to hear his response before a van coming down the street turned into the parking lot and spotlighted the both of us with its obnoxiously bright high beams. I glared at it and raised my hand to block the light. The man with the gun’s lack of reaction told me he was with them.

What did I just walk into.

“John Sappington?” the person standing next to me asked. I turned back to him slowly, my neck rigid with fear. I think my heart was going to explode from the sudden adrenaline spike from those words.

This suddenly seemed much worse than I could have possibly imagined.

“...who?” I tried, too little too late. They didn’t seem to buy it.

“You’re coming with us,” Not-ChlrophyllRag stated. It wasn’t an offer or a command, just stated as a fact.

“No I’m fucking not,” I backed up. I saw him reluctantly raise his gun back to point at me.

“I will shoot you,” he warned. “I’m not going to kill you but I am willing to shoot you and it’s going to hurt a lot. Okay? So let’s do this the easy way.”

I froze as I tried to process this. He was being surprisingly frank with me. I wondered if I could risk running.

But where would I go if I got away? They knew my name. What else did they know?

Two men from the car approached us. They were in plain but nice, nondescript clothes. This was not cop behavior. This was too… practiced for street gang behavior.

“You’re coming with us,” the one from the driver’s side repeated.

“...and what if I don’t?”

“Then the world is in danger.”