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aisling draft

By meslam
Created: 2026-03-05 21:57:17
Updated: 2026-06-14 15:47:47
draftspoilersprocess

  1. 1.
    >Outside your window, snowflakes glittered down to the earth in an overwhelming silence.
  2. 2.
    >The forest outside your house was a perfect sheet of alabaster, stabbed through with voluminous green columns of black spruce and illuminated by the full moon that had caught your attention moments ago, as it broke through the clouds.
  3. 3.
    >Even as you stared, the snowfall began to wane, and the dim grey ceiling of cloud retreated.
  4. 4.
    >The moon beamed down, and its rays struck the shimmering ice glazed woods below.
  5. 5.
    >A smile crept over your face, and you felt that kind of comfort that you only get in the intermittence of reading a fantastic book.
  6. 6.
    >To read, stop, appreciate, then seamlessly begin to read again, and feel as if you never stopped reading.
  7. 7.
    >You swept your hair out of your eyes and scanned the room for a moment, checking that the fire didn’t need feeding.
  8. 8.
    >Then you shifted your posture a bit, while remaining comfortably sheltered under your wool throw and your fleece blanket.
  9. 9.
    >With your free hand, you grabbed your mug of Irish breakfast tea, and took a sip, before flipping to the next page.
  10. 10.
    >It was an excellent hardcover copy of Le Morte d’Arthur, with a nice weight and size to it that let you splay it easily upon the teak wood coffee table.
  11. 11.
    >The Questing Beast was passing by Sir Lamerok and Sir Tristram, before Sir Palomides, who’s quest it was to pursue the beast, threw them both from their horses and carried on pursuing.
  12. 12.
    >You laughed a little at the abruptness with which the knights were overthrown, and pondered the beast’s bizarre physique.
  13. 13.
    “Head of a serpent, body of a leopard, buttocks of a lion and feet of hart... With a belly that yaps like 20 hounds as it moves...”
  14. 14.
    >It made you think of what you’d seen on the news earlier, all those people transfigured irreversibly into bizarrely truncated horses by that mass tainting of Tylenol bottles.
  15. 15.
     
  16. 16.
    >Some had even become “Changelings”, insect-like beasts that could transform further, and at will.
  17. 17.
    >The story was all like some fairy tale, even though it was true.
  18. 18.
    >It was like some wicked witch, or a mischievous sprite had been let loose to cast spells and sow confusion.
  19. 19.
    “...Ah.”
  20. 20.
    >Your thoughts had strayed a bit too far from your book, maybe it was time to take a short break.
  21. 21.
    >That was your last sip of tea anyway.
  22. 22.
    >You pushed your blankets off, and set them aside before getting up.
  23. 23.
    >The wood flooring was pleasantly toasty on the soles of your bare feet, as you walked over to the fireplace to toss a log in.
  24. 24.
    >Walking around the counter, and into the kitchen space now, you yawned and stretched your arms high above your head.
  25. 25.
    >For a moment you caught your reflection in the frosted up window across from the dinner table to your right.
  26. 26.
    >Your hair was a bit everywhere, black strands floating thither and hither from all the static the fleece had made.
  27. 27.
    >And your nightwear wasn’t really draping over your slight figure the way it should.
  28. 28.
    >You wrinkled your nose in passing frustration, and flattened out all the creases, so that the white nighty hung just right.
  29. 29.
    >While you worked on making your hair behave too, you made your way over to the kettle.
  30. 30.
    >Your speaker system booted automatically, and started up the playlist you’d set just for nights like this.
  31. 31.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URTaXcsUk3k
  32. 32.
    >First came the kettle, water in, flicked on...
  33. 33.
    >Dishes away...
  34. 34.
    >Spices back to the cupboards...
  35. 35.
    >As you were putting the cinnamon back in its place, you spied your vitamins and remembered you’d neglected to have your magnesium earlier.
  36. 36.
    >With how much vitamin D you were taking, that just wouldn’t do, so you grabbed the bottle and popped out a tablet.
  37. 37.
    >It was a simple, little white circle, with a crescent shape pressed into the face of it.
  38. 38.
     
  39. 39.
    >Now you set the magnesium aside, to take with your peppermint tea, and set to work cleaning the rest of the kitchen up.
  40. 40.
    >Eventually the kettle was whistling away, just waiting for you to pour.
  41. 41.
    >It was half past 8 as you dropped another teabag in and topped up your mug.
  42. 42.
    >You had always been particular about that 7 minutes steeping time.
  43. 43.
    >The speakers were going to switch off soon after you left the kitchen, but the music had hooked you, so-
  44. 44.
    “Time set: 7 minutes.”
  45. 45.
    >You ordered the system.
  46. 46.
    >May as well ride out the rest of the song, and steep your tea just right.
  47. 47.
    >Humming along to the tune, you picked up your mug and your pill and returned to the comfort of your sofa.
  48. 48.
    >Your toes had started to cool so it was with a particular relish that you got back under your blankets.
  49. 49.
    >Just as you started to read again though, your phone buzzed and nearly vibrated off the coffee table.
  50. 50.
    >”Chad --- Calling...”
  51. 51.
    >...As much as you liked the guy, you weren’t really in the mood to hear whatever demented sounding, but probably true, take he had on this Pon-E business.
  52. 52.
    >With a sigh, you hung up the call, and shot him a quick text.
  53. 53.
    >’Reading. Text me now or call me in an hour, thanks. -Aisling’
  54. 54.
    >Now, it was back to the adventures of Sir Tristan.
  55. 55.
    >You caught your flow almost right away, and followed along with the brave knight’s travels at a cantering pace.
  56. 56.
    >Seven minutes later, the music stopped, and you didn’t waste any time swallowing your magnesium tablet with that first sip of tea.
  57. 57.
    >The fragrance of the peppermint was as delicate to your palate as it was calming to your nerves, an impressive feat, considering how calm you were already.
  58. 58.
    >You smiled at your own, kind of lame, joke, and set down your mug.
  59. 59.
    “Hmm...”
  60. 60.
     
  61. 61.
    >Chad was blowing up your phone with texts, which wasn’t really unlike him at all.
  62. 62.
    >He was like a dog with a bone, whenever there was a news story developing.
  63. 63.
    “’PONY... PON-E... Masons... No pills... Globalist plot... 2050... South Pacific infinite oil... Mr Beast supplements...”
  64. 64.
    >You only glanced at the messages really, not taking in the full contents.
  65. 65.
    >Really, you just wanted to get back to your book.
  66. 66.
    “Whatever, I’ll check it after this chapter.”
  67. 67.
    >With a touch of regret for not responding to your friend when he was trying to reach you so desperately, even though it was for a cause that would likely never affect either of you, you set your phone on mute and put it back.
  68. 68.
    >Just as you started to flip to the next page however, a sudden twinge in your nerves made you recoil.
  69. 69.
    >You frowned and stared at your suddenly rebellious right hand.
  70. 70.
    >Even now it shook and underwent an additional spasm, sending a strange shock up your arm.
  71. 71.
    >With a rising panic, you realized your whole body was beginning to feel the same way, dulled in the extremities, yet electrified along the main nerveways up to your spine.
  72. 72.
    >Your hair stood on end, you breathed deep.
  73. 73.
    >And quelled your panic.
  74. 74.
    >And thought.
  75. 75.
    >Black fur was sprouting up and away from your wrist in a crooked lightning zigzag, as fast as crows flew up and away from cars.
  76. 76.
    >Chad must have wanted to tell you that it wasn’t just Tylenol bottles that were tainted with Pon-E.
  77. 77.
    >Your toes were stuck together, you couldn’t pull them apart at all.
  78. 78.
    >Pon-E took effect quickly, and came prepared in single doses of 500 mg, it was practically tasteless.
  79. 79.
    >You could feel two sensitive bits of flesh were pushing up past your hair, as your ears sunk into the sides of your already furry black head.
  80. 80.
    >Your magnesium tablets were 500 mg, and didn’t come with crescent shapes pressed in them.
  81. 81.
    >You sighed and fondled your hair-
  82. 82.
    “Mane.”
  83. 83.
     
  84. 84.
    >...watching it turn a dim argent hue, you could feel strange crackles like pinpricks, all the way down the nape of your neck as more of your mane grew.
  85. 85.
    >Maybe it was just like you, to fall so easily into this, even with all the warnings in the world.
  86. 86.
    >A wholly new part of you at the base of your spine was wrenching its way out, making you sit up to avoid it getting squeezed.
  87. 87.
    “It takes two tablets, so this isn’t permanent.”
  88. 88.
    >You managed to utter, before your jaw painfully jutted forth along with the rest of your face.
  89. 89.
    >With a morbid kind of fascination, you shoved your blankets away, pulled your nighty up and ran your hands along your core, feeling it push out into that unmistakable barrel shape.
  90. 90.
    >The fur had started up your legs maybe 10 seconds ago, and it seemed to be toning your flesh as it went, it was hard to see past your snout though.
  91. 91.
    >You’d barely noticed that your feet were already silvery hooves, and your ankles already fetlocks.
  92. 92.
    >Your hands worked down your hips, grasping their new width, and rested a moment on your new ebon thighs.
  93. 93.
    >They really were rippling with muscle, it was like, just by touching them, you understood the muscle memories every horse is imprinted with.
  94. 94.
    >Bucking, galloping and cantering seemed like wholly different words now.
  95. 95.
    “Oh, a tail.”
  96. 96.
    >You picked it up in your hand and let the fine silver strands fall back against your buttocks.
  97. 97.
    >But now it seemed, that was to be the end of your explorations.
  98. 98.
    >You lost all sense in your fingers, and then they in turn lost all their shape, melting into a whole mass of keratin, before hardening into dense hooves.
  99. 99.
    >Your lower body gave way with a great jerk, forcing you to all fours lest you smash your head.
  100. 100.
    >Gruesome sounds began to worm their way out of you, and you couldn’t help but start to breathe heavier.
  101. 101.
     
  102. 102.
    >Must have been your lungs getting bigger.
  103. 103.
    >Your legs shrunk down like two taught elastics being let go, bringing your back down and parallel to the floor.
  104. 104.
    >This was really a strange sort of feeling now, like your butt was just too high, a sort of permanent yoga pose.
  105. 105.
    >Your insides squirmed so queerly, organs shifting to their new positions.
  106. 106.
    “Aaaahn... Ah! Ahhh...”
  107. 107.
    >The range of your voice had shifted too, you’d gone down, from your angelic soprano to a melancholic contralto.
  108. 108.
    >A few more fleshy noises...
  109. 109.
    “Done?”
  110. 110.
    >Just as you lifted one hoof, you were struck by lightning.
  111. 111.
    >You blinked, wondered where you were, then you were struck again.
  112. 112.
    >It was all you could muster to see the brilliant flash of turquoise, instantly burning off into a glaring white like aluminum burning confusions mustered instantly rising droning telling knowing overthrowing.
  113. 113.
    “Huh?”
  114. 114.
    >Another strike, and this time you smelled burning, knew burning, was fire, knew fire, knew beasts, knew floating, knew-
  115. 115.
    >You couldn’t really breathe, you were struck so dumb, or maybe smart?
  116. 116.
    >Ideas swept through your mind, as fast as that flash of light maybe a millisecond ago, yet you grasped each one completely.
  117. 117.
    >It was like walking through a library, and literally picking every book off the shelves to read, one at a time, or more like reliving a past memory of doing that.
  118. 118.
    >You clung to that idea, to rationalize what was happening in your head.
  119. 119.
    >The memory seemed to slow at parts, and you grasped more then, things like the principles of gravity, electro-magnetics and water were paid special attention.
  120. 120.
    >Gradually the slowed parts became less and less frequent, and you found yourself just speeding by vast conceptual matrices of thoughts and ideas that frankly you were more interested in than some lame understanding of gravity.
  121. 121.
     
  122. 122.
    ##Taking it all In
  123. 123.
     
  124. 124.
    >For once you tried to reach out of yourself in this abstraction you’d invented for what was happening to you.
  125. 125.
    >In a flash, you’d stopped dead in the ‘memory’, with your hand grasping a book titled: Prudence.
  126. 126.
    >You peered at the book, then the shelf, then down the hallway to nothing...
  127. 127.
    >There was no ‘you’ proper either, just a ‘hand’.
  128. 128.
    >Something was off about everything, it put to your pseudo-mind the images of fractals, and made you think that if you were to back up a single step, all of this would melt away into a repeating, senseless pattern.
  129. 129.
    >It seemed pointless to think on that any more than you already had, so you cracked open the book.
  130. 130.
    >The first page read: “The proper motto is not ‘Be good, sweet maid and let who can be clever,’ but ‘Be good, sweet maid, and don’t forget that this involves being as clever as you can.”
  131. 131.
    “C.S. Lewis.”
  132. 132.
    >You whispered, and turned the page.
  133. 133.
    >Next came: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”
  134. 134.
    “Matthew 10:16.”
  135. 135.
    >You muttered, and frowned a little. Then shut the book and looked at the back.
  136. 136.
    >Embossed in silver were the words of Thessalonians 21.
  137. 137.
    “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
  138. 138.
    >These were things you’d already read before.
  139. 139.
    >The illusion was shattered, and your abstraction fell apart, you weren’t acquiring any new sort of knowledge at all, this had been just a re-examination.
  140. 140.
    >In an instant you were on your floor again, still a little horse, and a little hoarse.
  141. 141.
    >You coughed and stood up on all fours, trying to bat away the heavy, cloying blue smoke that was about your head.
  142. 142.
    >Eventually it dissipated, and you had the sense to put a hoof up to your forehead.
  143. 143.
    >Clearly it was a horn, maybe two hoof lengths long, poking out between your silvery bangs.
  144. 144.
    “Did it mess with my brain or something?”
  145. 145.
    >It was certainly sensitive enough, you considered perhaps that the formation of such a tight bundle of nerves right next to your skull must have caused some kind of feedback.
  146. 146.
    >But then again, there was the smoke, so the lightning must have been real.
  147. 147.
    >Looking around at the floor, you could see scorch marks where electricity had clearly been arcing too.
  148. 148.
    “Damn, arcing through the air?”
  149. 149.
    >You pawed at the ashes with your right hoof, brought them to your snout, and sniffed suspiciously.
  150. 150.
    “Magic.”
  151. 151.
    >Immediately you snorted with laughter, and in the same action, sucked all the ashes down your nostrils and started choking half to death, which only made you laugh harder.
  152. 152.
    >You keeled over and rolled all along the floor, coughing and giggling, sometimes in the same breath, making a mess of the nightwear that still dangled loosely from your body, and scratching marks into the floor with your horn.
  153. 153.
     
  154. 154.
    >Once half a cogent thought of yours managed to sneak past the giggle fit, you slipped yourself out of the silk nighty, picked it up in your mouth, and set it up on the couch where it wouldn’t get every last speck of ash in the room on it.
  155. 155.
    “Alright, let’s take a look at this magical horse hmm?”
  156. 156.
    >Still laughing, now at how strange it was hearing such a different voice come out of your mouth, you swept your mane out of your eyes and started a trot for your bedroom.
  157. 157.
    >On the way, you nabbed up a hunk of wood with your mouth, and gently pushed it into the fireplace.
  158. 158.
    >The fire was down to embers small enough that it was pretty easy to avoid burning yourself, thankfully.
  159. 159.
    >It made you think about how marvelously you’d adapted to moving on all four hooves.
  160. 160.
    >Maybe this Pon-E stuff was something of a nootropic.
  161. 161.
    >There was definitely a sharpening effect on your senses, but a lot of it could be attributed to the new physiology.
  162. 162.
    >Your ears were like little radar dishes, it was fun just pointing them around and picking up sounds you’d have easily overlooked before.
  163. 163.
    >Left, the sound of water in the pipes under the bathroom, right, the faint breeze slipping under the door, back, the low electronic buzz coming from the speakers in the kitchen.
  164. 164.
    >Hm, that last one could get annoying actually.
  165. 165.
    >On a whim, as you waltzed into your dimly lit bedroom, you trotted up to the window and very nearly stabbed a hole through it with your horn.
  166. 166.
    >Giggling, you turned your head left, pressed your cheek up against the glass and rotated your ears towards the woods outside.
  167. 167.
    >...
  168. 168.
    >*crick*.... *crack*....
  169. 169.
    >Yes, that was definitely the ice on the tree branches cracking, the snow must have frozen over by now too.
  170. 170.
    >In your mind’s eye, you pictured yourself driving your hooves through the icy crust with great cracks and snaps, cantering and laughing.
  171. 171.
    >There was an idyllic meadow perfect for that sort of fun, not far from your house either, and ringed with blueberry bushes.
  172. 172.
    “Ahh, now I want to go for a walk.”
  173. 173.
    >The weather was just right, the noisome wind had died down, and the moon was so bright it was like a demi daylight outside.
  174. 174.
    >Hm, that could just be your new eyes too though.
  175. 175.
    >Now you thought on just how many things you were attributing to this “new”ness, and laughed.
  176. 176.
    >Finally you pushed that all to the back-burner, and got a good look at yourself in the mirror.
  177. 177.
    >From the top of your head, to the bottoms of your hooves, you were beautiful, and around 4 feet tall.
  178. 178.
    >You were so black you had to flick the lights on to see yourself properly.
  179. 179.
    >Your mane and tail were straight as sheet metal and fluid like molten silver, rippling and shimmering by the lamplight.
  180. 180.
    >Normally you’d have to drop 200 dollars in a salon twice a week to get anywhere close to this.
  181. 181.
    >Upon your flanks were a pair of ivory coloured markings you instantly recognized as olive trees, by their strange twisted trunks.
  182. 182.
     
  183. 183.
    >The horn, nay, the alpenhorn on your head was a work of the purest driven platinum, spiralling in such a tight wind all the way to the tip as to be impossible for human hands to reproduce.
  184. 184.
    >And at that tip you could see a single burning spark of turquoise, like a gem in a sunbeam.
  185. 185.
    >Your eyes were the same colour.
  186. 186.
    >But the gaping expression on your pretty face nearly ruined the entire effect.
  187. 187.
    >You gasped and laughed and laughed.
  188. 188.
    “Hhhoooo noooo I’m hoottt!!!”
  189. 189.
    >Maybe you should take a second one?
  190. 190.
    >You nearly choked on the thought, and fell down laughing all over again.
  191. 191.
    >I mean you had HOOVES for Pete’s sake, you were practically an amputee.
  192. 192.
    >No, no, no this should all wear-
  193. 193.
    >A sonorous *THUNK* from the living room stifled your giggling, and made your ears spin right round to follow the sound.
  194. 194.
    >Plastic with metal inside.
  195. 195.
    “Chad, texting me, right. Phone vibrated off the table.”
  196. 196.
    >Yes, it would be best to let him know you were alright, and hadn’t overdosed or anything.
  197. 197.
    >Still laughing a little, you walked back into the living room, picked your phone up from off the floor with your mouth, and tried not to think too hard about how many germs you just fast tracked into your system as you tossed it up onto the couch.
  198. 198.
    >You crawled up after your phone and pulled your fleece blanket over yourself to get comfy, because this was obviously going to take forever.
  199. 199.
    >Considering the nature of keratin, your hooves should still carry enough of a static charge to at least work a touch screen...
  200. 200.
    “Right?”
  201. 201.
    >You stared at your little black rectangle down over your scrunched up muzzle and set to work.
  202. 202.
    >With an inordinate amount of effort versus the reward, you eventually managed to kind of smoosh the sides of the phone between your hooves and depress the power button, bringing up the lock screen.
  203. 203.
    >5 missed calls from Chad, 137 text messages.
  204. 204.
    >Actually not the highest you’d seen, thinking back to 2016.
  205. 205.
    >The bulk of them always came in the form of ALL CAPS ONE WORD repetitions of what he wanted to emphasize from his last message.
  206. 206.
    >...The phone had relocked.
  207. 207.
    >With some consternation, you did your smooshing between the hooves trick again, still a little worried you may wind up breaking something.
  208. 208.
    >Now for your first real attempt; you lifted your right hoof... lowered it... and... dddrrraagggeddd up...
  209. 209.
    >Nothing at all.
  210. 210.
    “Pffffffffffffffffffffff..........”
  211. 211.
    >You lied flat on your belly and blew all the air from your lungs in an exasperated sigh.
  212. 212.
    >At least you were warm, under this fleece, and in your fur.
  213. 213.
    >But if anything you wanted to be cold right now, outside cantering around.
  214. 214.
    >Common sense was keeping you at this phone operating business though, you couldn’t just leave Chad out to dry like that, and if anything were to happen while you were like this, he was definitely the best person to notify.
  215. 215.
    “And not just because he’s the closest friend to my house.”
  216. 216.
    >You added.
  217. 217.
     
  218. 218.
    ##Tricknology
  219. 219.
     
  220. 220.
    >Alright, back to it.
  221. 221.
    >You tried again, this time using more surface area, and the screen started to move...
  222. 222.
    >Then flopped right back, still locked.
  223. 223.
    >You whipped your tail into the sofa, producing a muffled thump.
  224. 224.
    >Reflected in the phone screen, you could see your snout all scrunched up.
  225. 225.
    >Time was seriously wasting at this point.
  226. 226.
    >The weather outside was still nice, but this close to the mountains, it could change at any time.
  227. 227.
    >Sighing, your frustration drove your thoughts inward.
  228. 228.
    >You lounged sulkily, swishing your tail and flicking your ears.
  229. 229.
    >Why would someone take a recreational drug that physically handicapped you like this anyway?
  230. 230.
    >With psychoactives it was just a consequence of the desired effect.
  231. 231.
    >There had to be some detail to your new form that you were missing, on TV you’d seen that little blue horse with no horn using a touch screen just fine.
  232. 232.
    >...something more-
  233. 233.
    >You slapped your head with a hoof, and immediately regretted it for all the pain it caused.
  234. 234.
    >But, now you had a very silly idea.
  235. 235.
    “Magic.”
  236. 236.
    >You uttered the word like a slur.
  237. 237.
    >It had been so obvious that it had become almost tastelessly improbable, what with all the sparks and the lightning strikes and that vision of the library.
  238. 238.
    >But now that the thought had struck you, you felt like you had no choice but to at least try.
  239. 239.
    >Sighing with disbelief at your own foolishness for even thinking this could work, but simultaneously half convinced that it would, on the merit that magic worked precisely because it shouldn’t...
  240. 240.
    >You stared up at your horn with eyes crossed, and slowly, you lowered it all the way down to just a hair’s breadth of the screen.
  241. 241.
    >The moment you touched your horn to the phone, you thought: “Open”.
  242. 242.
    >And it ‘worked’.
  243. 243.
    >Your phone opened up like an exploded-view in CAD, screen, casing, motherboard, individual little screws and wires, all floating in that turquoise glow you’d seen earlier.
  244. 244.
    >With the barest thought of turning your head to see if anyone else was seeing this, even though you knew you were alone, the phone in suspension turned.
  245. 245.
    >The parts swirled in orbit around a set axis, and began to slow to a stop as soon as you stopped thinking about “turning”.
  246. 246.
    >Alright...
  247. 247.
    >There was a lot of risk here.
  248. 248.
    >I mean if you thought the wrong thing right now-
  249. 249.
    >You could possibly-
  250. 250.
    >I mean there was the chance that you-
  251. 251.
    >...You couldn’t even think it, lest you risk that it be done.
  252. 252.
    >So you focused on “fixing” things first.
  253. 253.
    >With a measured, clockmaker like deliberation, the parts pulled back together and began to reassemble.
  254. 254.
    >You could even see some bits of glue “un-drying”, sticking back together, and re-bonding to the surface.
  255. 255.
    >The turquoise light seemed to be manipulating it all somehow.
  256. 256.
    >And you, it.
  257. 257.
    >Once the phone was all back together, you dared to think anything besides “fix”.
  258. 258.
    >A cold sweat ran down the nape of your neck as you exclaimed,
  259. 259.
     
  260. 260.
    “I was so close to setting my phone on FIRE! Or throwing it IN the fire! Or setting MYSELF on fire...”
  261. 261.
    >But now a warm elation was pouring from your heart, and finally it bubbled up to the top.
  262. 262.
    >You could cast MAGIC.
  263. 263.
    >You could BEND physical laws!
  264. 264.
    >You were practically like a... Like some kind of myth for goodness’ sake!
  265. 265.
    “Ahaha!”
  266. 266.
    >Giddy with excitement, you battered your sofa with your forehooves in rapid fire.
  267. 267.
    >If it operated off thought, you thought, then all you had to do was compartmentalize your thinking.
  268. 268.
    >It shouldn’t be any different than something like driving, people practically did that unconsciously, lifting and using a phone with magic should be even easier in fact.
  269. 269.
    >Embracing that usually contrary notion, you set your mind on your phone again, this time with a clearer mental image of “grasping” it.
  270. 270.
    >Your phone was gradually wrapped in that glow again, and rose a couple centimetres, but ultimately the magic petered out and your phone fell back down.
  271. 271.
    >Immediately you could see the problem, it was like those secret eye illusions, where you had to keep your eyes crossed for just long enough that seeing the illusory hologram came without maintained effort.
  272. 272.
    >Such it was with imagining ‘what’ was “grasping”, you settled on a definite shape, that would be easier to maintain, rather than just the idea of “grasping”.
  273. 273.
    >For now you just thought up a cartoonish hand with a thumb and two fingers, to keep it simple.
  274. 274.
    “I could even say that I conjured a hand, ~Oooo...”
  275. 275.
    >Giggling, you waved your hooves around in front of your face while you levitated the phone up.
  276. 276.
    >The rest came easy, you just touched the magic thumb thing from the conjured hand macguffin to the screen and...
  277. 277.
    >You had attained the bare minimum of modern human functionality; unlocking your smart phone.
  278. 278.
    “That felt like it took all week...”
  279. 279.
    >Much more at ease now that you were finally getting somewhere, you stretched out under your blanket, enjoying the feel of the fleece on your short fur.
  280. 280.
    >You brought up the chat with Chad, scrolled past the now 200 odd messages he’d sent, conjured a second thumby glowing hand to type with and started on a response.
  281. 281.
    >”Hey Chad. Yeah I took one, don’t worry, just one. It was in my magnesium tablets. Thanks for the heads up though lol!”
  282. 282.
    >Before hitting send, you attached a cutesy pic of yourself on the couch, doing a ‘reclining figure’ pose, copied from a renaissance painting you’d seen last week.
  283. 283.
    >It looked goofy with your horsey legs, but damn if magic wasn’t convenient for taking good pictures.
  284. 284.
    >You hit send and waited, humming tunelessly and kicking your hind legs around.
  285. 285.
    >You’d gotten the rest of your tepid peppermint tea drunk by the time Chad called.
  286. 286.
    “Hello?”
  287. 287.
    >”Say Jesus Christ is lord you damnable horse or I will aggressively hang up on you and tragically break down crying over the assumed death of my friend Aisling.”
  288. 288.
     
  289. 289.
    “Chad the lllaaaaddiesss mannn~”
  290. 290.
    >You laughed, this was even better than you expected.
  291. 291.
    >A loud ‘frsssssssssshhhhhhhh’ sound came out Chad’s side, nearly blowing your ears out.
  292. 292.
    “What was that?!”
  293. 293.
    >”Salt, you fucking LITERAL nightmare, I’ll be there to exorcise you when you least expect it.”
  294. 294.
    >Faintly, in the back, you could hear a feminine voice cursing mightily “Chad is that her?! What the fuck-” before the line cut out.
  295. 295.
    >You blinked and stared at your phone for a moment, before shrugging and tossing it aside.
  296. 296.
    “Guess Chad’s coming to visit.”
  297. 297.
    >Laughing, you hopped off the sofa and grabbed a white scarf off the hanger with your magic.
  298. 298.
    >You wrapped it in an almost comically big bow around your neck, and tucked your mane inside for some extra warmth.
  299. 299.
    >Hopefully your fur and body heat was enough.
  300. 300.
    >Heedlessly, you swung your door wide open and charged out into the frigid air.
  301. 301.
    “O-o-o-o-ohhh...”
  302. 302.
    >You shivered, your teeth were rattling, and your hooves were pitter pattering.
  303. 303.
    >Your cheeks were instantly flushed, and your breath came out in big chimney puffs of steam that floated straight up, with no wind to blow them apart.
  304. 304.
    >Thinking fast, before you lost your courage and retreated to the wools and linens inside, you lit your horn up and thought; “heat”.
  305. 305.
    >Heat passed over your body in smooth and heavy rivulets, like a massive egg was cracked open on top of you.
  306. 306.
    >Wherever the warmth passed, you could see your magic emit a turquoise flash, before shimmering off into a faint spattering of distant-star like sparkles that remained and dappled your black coat.
  307. 307.
    >The effect was marvelous to the eyes, although you were a bit apprehensive doing a spell like that right off the bat.
  308. 308.
    >So you spun around for a quick body check to make sure you hadn’t set yourself on fire, grinned, and then leapt off the porch.
  309. 309.
    >Your forehooves broke through the icy crust first, with a satisfying crunch that was quickly muffled by the snowy landscape, then your hindhooves followed.
  310. 310.
    “Hahahaha!”
  311. 311.
    >Cackling away, you hopped up and down, stabbed your horn into the snow just to see what would happen, and made a general ruckus of your frigid front yard.
  312. 312.
    >The snow was hard, but not so hard you had to worry about breaking a leg, although you really should have checked that beforehoof.
  313. 313.
    >As you gambolled around, it suddenly hit you that the transformation had definitely induced a kind of euphoria.
  314. 314.
    >It wasn’t just that the situation was so ridiculous all you could do was laugh, it was like a wind or a power you were swept up by.
  315. 315.
    >You were following it eagerly, but that’s just it, you were following.
  316. 316.
    >There was something a little outside of you that was in the lead.
  317. 317.
    >This made you press the brakes, just a little, it wasn’t like you were going to stop being happy or anything, but your silliness had begun to wander into the territory of the wanton.
  318. 318.
    >Nonetheless, you were smugly satisfied with your hoofdiwork, as you looked it up and down.
  319. 319.
     
  320. 320.
    ##Frolicking
  321. 321.
     
  322. 322.
    >You were breathing heavier now, after all that jumping around.
  323. 323.
    >While you caught your breath, you craned your long and slender neck to stare up into the endless night.
  324. 324.
    >Your eyes were dazzled by the moon, and the real stars up there, that made your little magic ones seem like so much cheap glitter.
  325. 325.
    >Out here at the foot of the mountains, there wasn’t much light pollution, so the whole Milky Way could be seen.
  326. 326.
    >You were never any good at picking out constellations, but the sight of the clear night sky had always mesmerized you in other ways.
  327. 327.
    >It was a strange thing to think, considering how distant it all was, but there was something so visceral about that wheeling dome of stars, especially on a night like tonight.
  328. 328.
    >That visceral feeling was queerly amplified by your transfigured body, or maybe it was the other way around.
  329. 329.
    >There had been a touch of the dreamlike when you were a pony in your own home, but now that you were outside where things were much realer to your sense perceptions...
  330. 330.
    >You were suddenly feeling your new shape as if it really was your own, for the first time.
  331. 331.
    >This brief interval of self-discovery stretched back through your past, and linked with one of the earliest memories of your childhood, staring at the same stars in the same sky, held tight in your father’s arms.
  332. 332.
    >What would that Aisling think of Aisling now?
  333. 333.
    >What would your father think of you now?
  334. 334.
    >...What did God think?
  335. 335.
    >You lifted up one argent hoof, glistening with melted snow, and peered at it.
  336. 336.
    “Have I truly become an animal?”
  337. 337.
    >The sound of a branch snapping struck the rest of your thoughts dumb.
  338. 338.
    >You whipped your head around to stare into the trees where you’d heard it, and for the barest moment, you could almost swear you saw a smear of red vanish around a spruce trunk.
  339. 339.
    >A shiver traveled up and down your spine.
  340. 340.
    >Your gut instinct left you certain that you had been watched, but for who knows how long?
  341. 341.
    >And by what?
  342. 342.
    >You racked your brain to think of anything “red” this time of year, and you didn’t like the sane answers any better than the irrational ones.
  343. 343.
    “Thank God it’s not hunting season right now...”
  344. 344.
    >With a few deep breaths, you quickly regained your calm.
  345. 345.
    >It had just been some trick of the eyes, you’d panicked because you were surprised in a moment of contemplation.
  346. 346.
    >Nothing more to it than that.
  347. 347.
    >You laughed and started walking off into the forest, towards that meadow you’d been anticipating so eagerly.
  348. 348.
    >It was also where the sound had come from, but you easily swept that fact aside in your mind.
  349. 349.
    >On your way over, you passed by your car, and felt totally dwarfed
  350. 350.
    >Then you walked under the massive pine that stood vigil in your backyard, before you finally planted your hooves up to the edge of the forest.
  351. 351.
    >The snow cover was thinner through here, so you decided it was high time to do what your body was really meant for.
  352. 352.
     
  353. 353.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTen4lcHVAo
  354. 354.
    >You snorted and pawed the icy turf, tossing your head round like you’d seen horses in movies do before.
  355. 355.
    >With a strong kick from your hind legs, you started off at a gallop.
  356. 356.
    >Your silver hooves clove cleanly through the snow and ice with swift sharp crunching blows.
  357. 357.
    >You planted your hooves firmly, and with all that leverage and grip, you weaved gracefully between the conifers.
  358. 358.
    >Everything was in perfect alignment, this was the “truest” you had ever felt in this pony figure.
  359. 359.
    >The automatic, rhythmic pumping of your legs, matched the steady and strong beating of your beautiful heart.
  360. 360.
    >Your mane and tail trailed behind you like banners, and shone in the light from the Moon that watched you from above.
  361. 361.
    >The forest was all asleep; no matter where you pointed your ears, you only picked up the sound of your breath, the thumping of your heart and the stomping of your hooves.
  362. 362.
    >But your nose was picking up scents you never used to catch, even through the snow and ice you caught the distinct scent of sap.
  363. 363.
    >Long before you leaped ‘round the last spruce, you knew the maple trees were ahead.
  364. 364.
    >Now that there weren’t any branches in the way, you could find out what your top speed really was.
  365. 365.
    >A satisfied grin crept up your face, condensation was rushing from your nostrils like smoke from a steam engine.
  366. 366.
    >Your legs were rushing below you at an almost frightful pace now.
  367. 367.
    >Tree trunks just flashed by, left to stand in the wake of the tumultuous din of your thundering hooves and the cloud of powdered ice you had kicked up.
  368. 368.
    >Surely you had never felt your heart beat this way before, the difference from being human was so drastic it made every other new thing about being a pony seem practically the same as before the pill.
  369. 369.
    >Everything was “on demand” physically, if you wanted power there, you got it, speed here, you got it, oxygen now, more like oxygen yesterday.
  370. 370.
    >You went like that for what felt like forever at the time, and mere moments after the fact.
  371. 371.
    >The maples were interspersed with pine now, and now and again you skipped over fallen logs.
  372. 372.
    >It was only when the blueberry bushes came into view that you started to feel your muscles begin to ache.
  373. 373.
    >You caught yourself breathing from your mouth too, in big sighing draws and exhales that clouded your eyes with the condensates.
  374. 374.
    >With one last grand effort, you planted both fore hooves straight through the snow, then drove them irresistibly upward just as your chest came up even with the bushes.
  375. 375.
    >You tucked your hind legs in and cleared the hurdle deftly, then lowered your fore legs for the landing.
  376. 376.
    >The green earth gratefully received your moonlit hooves.
  377. 377.
    >It took twenty strides to slow down and rein yourself in after that rousing bit of athletics.
  378. 378.
    >Your body radiated heat like a furnace, if that spell from earlier was still active it certainly didn’t matter now.
  379. 379.
     
  380. 380.
    >Sweat dripped down your flanks in beaded lines, your back was rising and falling with each tremendous breath.
  381. 381.
    >The condensation was like a localized nimbus around your body.
  382. 382.
    >When you had finally come back to your senses, you took the time to actually appreciate the view.
  383. 383.
    >The meadow was a windblown, frosty little Eden.
  384. 384.
    >Drifts of snow sparkled hither and thither like dunes, rising out of the verdant carpet of frost touched mint, melt dappled clover and amethyst violas.
  385. 385.
    >A stream, like a silver ribbon, lay curving from your end of the meadow to the other.
  386. 386.
    >The entire place was ringed in snowberry bushes, heaving with bright red fruit that was just waiting to be plucked by chickadees.
  387. 387.
    >Just when you thought you had processed the whole of the entrancing locale, a cloud covering the moon swept past, and your gaze was held fast upon the landscape with an awful wonder.
  388. 388.
    >The refracted moonlight from the ice on the ground and the frozen glaze covering the bare branches glowed with such a white brilliance that you felt like you were caught in the spotlight on a stage.
  389. 389.
    >A brief gust whipped up a swirl of icy flakes like diamonds, and spun them across the whole meadow.
  390. 390.
    “Gorgeous...”
  391. 391.
    >You tried not to say any more, knowing it would just come out in a singular stream of synonyms.
  392. 392.
    >...Probably should have waited for Chad.
  393. 393.
    “Hahaha!”
  394. 394.
    >The thought of him possibly missing this made you tumble onto your rump with laughter.
  395. 395.
    >Of course you were going to drag him out here, you’d strap him to your back if you had to.
  396. 396.
    >For now though, you decided it would be best to just relax and enjoy.
  397. 397.
    >He was all the way in town after all, it would be a while yet before he got here.
  398. 398.
    >You settled into a more comfortable position, lying down on your belly, with your legs tucked for a bit of warmth.
  399. 399.
    >The cold was starting to nip at your skin, so the spell must have been nearly worn out at this point.
  400. 400.
    >But with how overheated you were from the gallop over, the chill was actually a pleasant treat.
  401. 401.
    >So you lay, sometimes staring at the moon, sometimes the stars, oftentimes the verdant sprawl.
  402. 402.
    >After a while, you started to think maybe you should try eating a bit of the mint.
  403. 403.
    “It’s... safe right?”
  404. 404.
    >You snuffed at a mint plant with your snout.
  405. 405.
    >It was growing straight in front of your chest, well within munching range...
  406. 406.
    >You had a little bit of experience with horses, since the last town you’d lived in had a ranch.
  407. 407.
    “Mint. Mint. Mint?”
  408. 408.
    >The memory you were looking for seemed out of reach for a second there, but you finally got a hold of it.
  409. 409.
    >Right, you’d fed that brown horse, Lucky Sands, some mint once.
  410. 410.
    >You licked your lips with eyebrows raised, and pondered the total lack of reluctance you had for eating vegetation right off the ground.
  411. 411.
    >Maybe it came easy because it was an herb.
  412. 412.
    “Aahm.”
  413. 413.
    >You lowered your head, and took three frosty leaves with one bite.
  414. 414.
     
  415. 415.
    ##Familiar Faces
  416. 416.
     
  417. 417.
    >The texture was...
  418. 418.
    >Yeah it was just leaves alright.
  419. 419.
    >Your new teeth munched them up fine though.
  420. 420.
    >But as you mulched the leaves down, the flavour got intense.
  421. 421.
    >It was strong and sweet, so strong it made you open your mouth to catch your breath.
  422. 422.
    >You giggled, enjoying the feeling on your tongue, then chewed some more, and stared at the stars.
  423. 423.
     
  424. 424.
    ////
  425. 425.
     
  426. 426.
    >Outside the car window, a snow blanketed ditch streamed past.
  427. 427.
    >Beyond it, endless rows of spruce streamed past a little slower.
  428. 428.
    >And beyond them, the mountains hardly moved.
  429. 429.
    >Their peaks were like shadowy prisms cut into the starry night, and they were rimmed with swiftly vanishing clouds.
  430. 430.
    >BBNG was oozing out of the speaker system.
  431. 431.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8t6VwJUO3Y
  432. 432.
    >On your left sat a young man you knew as Chad, smoking a cigarette.
  433. 433.
    >The little ember at the end of his rollie would cast a red glow across his cool and collected face, every time he took a draw.
  434. 434.
    >You sighed and shifted uncomfortably in your seat.
  435. 435.
    >At first you tried to lean yourself against the passenger side door, and press your hoof to your face like you would have pressed your hand to it back when you were still human.
  436. 436.
    >But it quickly became obvious that wasn’t going to work, the damned seatbelt kept sliding off of you, or it just plain got in the way.
  437. 437.
    >Instead, you switched over to the other side, laid your fore legs across the middle console, and nestled your head between them with an apoplectic snort of derision.
  438. 438.
    >You are Anonymous.
  439. 439.
    >A lot of people call you Keyboard Masher now.
  440. 440.
    >”Fuck, are we almost there yet Anon?”
  441. 441.
    >Except for your friend Chad.
  442. 442.
    >You lifted your head up and stared out the windshield, at the oncoming, salt stained pavement, bordered by black walls of trees on either side
  443. 443.
    >A mailbox flashed by, #3320.
  444. 444.
    >You laid your head down again, and responded in a low growl,
  445. 445.
    “Yeah, three houses down, on the left. Not even a minute.”
  446. 446.
    >It had been a long day, and then a long drive, all to go check up on yet another friend who’d taken this Pon-E crap, so you were dead tired about it all right now.
  447. 447.
    >Chad butted out his cig and almost used that tobacco stinking hand to muss up your mane, before he thought better of it, and used his other hand that was hardly any better instead.
  448. 448.
    >You laughed a little at that at least, and felt your ears perk up for the first time in the past half hour.
  449. 449.
    >From this angle, you could see your reflection in the driver’s side window.
  450. 450.
    >It was a goofy looking top-down shot of your pale white horse face, with your blonde mane all askew across your big staring eyes.
  451. 451.
    >With your forehooves, you poked and prodded and smoothed out the stray hairs.
  452. 452.
    >You’d been nagged enough by your girl friends at this point that it had become a habit to at least try and stay on top of it.
  453. 453.
    >It looked nice when it was all clean, like a wavy peel of sunlight.
  454. 454.
    >But frankly, at this point, you wished you were back to having short hair that you didn’t have to care about at all.
  455. 455.
     
  456. 456.
    >You had just started to really get it all back together, by the time Chad had started slowing down, when suddenly you felt his hand smush your head into the console.
  457. 457.
    “Agck...”
  458. 458.
    >You spluttered, your ears twitching between his fingers and your tongue reflexively darting out between your teeth.
  459. 459.
    >”Woops. Sorry bud.”
  460. 460.
    >Chad’s hand swapped over to the shift stick, and you got a look at his hardly apologetic looking face, with his eyes intent on the driveway ahead.
  461. 461.
    >You took a look at yourself in the window again, and saw basically the same picture as before you’d started trying to groom.
  462. 462.
    >With your snout firmly in the scrunched position, you sat back up straight and fast as an arrow and started over again, this time with the brush you nabbed out of the back seat.
  463. 463.
    >Chad rolled the car to an easy stop in Aisling’s driveway, maybe a car length or two away from her vehicle, and you hopped out just as soon as he put it in park.
  464. 464.
    >Aisling’s house was a pleasant construction, the “built by a carpenter” type, with good woodwork but not much of the stylistic sense that would impress a buyer.
  465. 465.
    >All the lights were on inside, and their bright glow cast crossed window pane shadows over the absolutely dug up, stomped down and rolled in square of snow out front.
  466. 466.
    >”...What the hell happened here?”
  467. 467.
    >Chad was the first to utter.
  468. 468.
    >Trotting up to look, the first thing that stuck out to you were the hoof prints.
  469. 469.
    >You planted one of your hooves into a print, and saw that these were about the same, if a little thinner, than yours.
  470. 470.
    >The other thing you noticed was that the snow was still pretty loose, which led you to deduce that it was shifted pretty recently.
  471. 471.
    “Must have been Aisling,”
  472. 472.
    >You called over your shoulder to Chad, as he approached.
  473. 473.
    >He was zipping up his jacket and looking over the snowy mess, before his eyes were drawn to the house itself.
  474. 474.
    >”Lights are on, probably inside.”
  475. 475.
    >Wordlessly, you followed him across the front yard, up the wood steps, onto the porch and mercifully straight inside the warm home.
  476. 476.
    >The interior looked like...
  477. 477.
    “What the-”
  478. 478.
    >”Typical, I knew it was a Nightmare.”
  479. 479.
    >You snorted and butted your head against Chad’s leg for being such a crackpot at a time like this.
  480. 480.
    >But looking at the place, even you found it hard not to get some less than rational ideas in your head.
  481. 481.
    >The faint, ashy shadow of something like a blast radius was burned into the floor.
  482. 482.
    >Char marks that looked unmistakably like electric arc burns formed a circle around the radius, and in that circle more ashes were strewn about.
  483. 483.
    >Strange gashes had been made in the wood floor as well, and you wondered at the size of the implement that must have been used to carve them.
  484. 484.
    >Everything else besides the floor around the fireplace was relatively pristine, with only a few oddities like Aisling’s soot dusted nighty lying on the sofa.
  485. 485.
     
  486. 486.
    >”Aisling?”
  487. 487.
    >Chad called out upstairs, while you took a peek at the book on the coffee table.
  488. 488.
    “...Arthur... Hm, she’s reading the tale of Tristan now.”
  489. 489.
    >As you were wont to do, you instantly got sucked into the tome as soon as you laid eyes on it.
  490. 490.
    >You placed a bookmark to save Aisling’s spot, hopped up on the sofa, and tucked in all four legs to lie down.
  491. 491.
    >Time vanished as you got invested in Sir Tristan’s desperate struggle against King Mark, and the tragedy of his illicit love for Isolde.
  492. 492.
    >You were about 10 pages deep with your whole body wrapped in the wool throw before Chad could stop you.
  493. 493.
    >The expression on his face as he spotted you from the stairwell was the antithesis of surprised.
  494. 494.
    >Chad merely sighed and rolled his eyes before his visage finally settled into a grim determination for what must be done.
  495. 495.
    >For your part, you did your best to pretend you hadn’t seen him, and got back to reading.
  496. 496.
    >”Fucking. Nerd. Get up.”
  497. 497.
    >Chad grumbled before yanking away your covering.
  498. 498.
    >Plaintively, you clung to the wool throw by the mouth and shed some crocodile tears.
  499. 499.
    “Mnnffooo...”
  500. 500.
    >You were suspended, staring Chad straight in the eyes and immediately employing every form of psychological warfare ponyngly possible.
  501. 501.
    >Big eyes, slow blinks, little kicking hooves, swishing tail and ears pinned back.
  502. 502.
    >None of it should be legal.
  503. 503.
    >And... there. Right there.
  504. 504.
    >Chad’s face relaxed, and his shoulder started to loosen as he moved to set you back down.
  505. 505.
    >One moment’s hesitation was all you needed.
  506. 506.
    >Swiftly you let go of the throw and dropped-
  507. 507.
    >But Chad’s left hand was already in waiting for just such an escape.
  508. 508.
    >He deftly wound his arm around your barrel and hefted you over his shoulder.
  509. 509.
    >”She’s not here, Nightmare or not, she’s just not here. We’re going to check out those prints.”
  510. 510.
    >As he spoke, Chad was headed for the door.
  511. 511.
    “Aaaaaa... Too collldddd...”
  512. 512.
    >You moaned, half seriously.
  513. 513.
    >This black hoodie you had was nice and all, but it wasn’t enough for the weather.
  514. 514.
    >Chad grunted an acknowledgment, then turned around and took the moment to throw another hunk of wood on the fire with his free hand while you squirmed.
  515. 515.
    >You tapped him on the back with both forehooves.
  516. 516.
    “Seriously I’m too cold dude, grab that blanket or something.”
  517. 517.
    >”Yeah, I got ya.”
  518. 518.
    >Your captor grabbed the wool throw on his way out the door.
  519. 519.
    >You shivered in the cool night air, and gazed longingly at the warm home you were leaving behind, as Chad walked down the doorstep with you still draped over his shoulder.
  520. 520.
    >With some trepidation, you slid off of him once he’d reached the lawn.
  521. 521.
    >”Is it like her to leave everything running like that?”
  522. 522.
    >You shook your head at Chad, and started to walk around the yard trying to find a set of prints that split off.
  523. 523.
    “None of this is much like Aisling at all besides the book and the way she talked over the phone. I was expecting to get here and just have tea and talk about books for hours while you sperged out about Freemasons faking history or something.”
  524. 524.
     
  525. 525.
    ##Searching
  526. 526.
     
  527. 527.
    >You started to take things a little more seriously once you and Chad were outside again.
  528. 528.
    >Aisling wasn’t the type to lose her cool at all, and keeping in mind what you’d heard of the phone call earlier, it was safe to assume she wouldn’t be subject to some random fit of histrionics in the intervening time before yours’ and Chad’s arrival.
  529. 529.
    >So she probably wasn’t anywhere random.
  530. 530.
    >Chad followed in your hoofsteps the way a hunter would follow after his dog.
  531. 531.
    >You trotted over to the eastern edge of the lawn, closest to the tree line, and spotted a set of tracks leading out and away.
  532. 532.
    >Just then, the moon broke out from behind another cloud, illuminating the path in the glittering snow.
  533. 533.
    >Immediately you noticed that once the hoofprints reached the forest, they were farther apart, with big tufts of snow kicked up and out of them.
  534. 534.
    “She wanted to run.”
  535. 535.
    >You mused.
  536. 536.
    >Chad nodded and lit another cigarette while poking you in the rump with his boot.
  537. 537.
    >”You could do with a bit of that too you know.”
  538. 538.
    >Your lips tightened down to a thin line, but Chad couldn’t see that.
  539. 539.
    >With a deadly and quiet resolve, you stood stock still with your head turned to face Chad sidelong, as if you were waiting for him to pick you up.
  540. 540.
    >As soon as his foot left the snow, you donkey kicked him a dozen times in the shins and send him tumbling.
  541. 541.
    >You’d gotten five good body blows in with your forehooves before Chad managed to scramble to his feet, laughing like a fool.
  542. 542.
    >The tussle turned into a hunt as you chased the fleeing Chad around in the snow, tossing your head and rearing up on your hind legs, trying to stomp on his heels with your hooves.
  543. 543.
    >Chad just cackled and darted around, biffing a snowball at you whenever the mood took him.
  544. 544.
    >...And that kept up until the both of you were huffing and puffing and well the worse for wear.
  545. 545.
    >The snow from Chad’s projectiles had accumulated in your coat, making you shiver and shake.
  546. 546.
    > While Chad, for his part, was nursing more than a few hoof shaped bruises on his legs and chest.
  547. 547.
    >The two of you shared a glance, from one sorely beaten young man, to a pathetically cold and shivering young mare, and laughed.
  548. 548.
    >Chad walked up and smacked the snow off you, and you off of him, before you let him pick you up and wrap you in the scratchy woolen blanket he’d brought.
  549. 549.
    >Then Chad slung you over his back, and tied the ends of the blanket tight around his midsection, so that you hung snug on him like a backpack.
  550. 550.
    >It was blessedly warm, squeezed up against him, and you could feel your extremities getting toasty already.
  551. 551.
    >You smiled, pointed over Chad’s shoulder, and said,
  552. 552.
    “Hiyo! Conspiracy Cruiser! Away!”
  553. 553.
    >”Inverted... Hmmph... world we got here...”
  554. 554.
    >Chad grumbled around his cigarette as he adjusted the stubborn blanket sling with both hands.
  555. 555.
    >With great gusto, you whirled one hoof over your head as your steed trudged on, among the conifers.
  556. 556.
     
  557. 557.
    >Something about the tight atmosphere, and being bundled up like this, made you think again of how much smaller you’d become.
  558. 558.
    >The forest was so deathly quiet, that Chad’s breath was like a great lumbering bear’s to your ears.
  559. 559.
    >It condensed into big stormheads, compared to the childlike nimbuses that came out of your mouth.
  560. 560.
    >Besides his breath, you could feel his back muscles too, and thought of the musculature you’d once been born with.
  561. 561.
    >You’d never throw a punch again, never heave a load over your head, and never wrap your arm around someone.
  562. 562.
    >You were no longer a man.
  563. 563.
    >...
  564. 564.
    >You stared up at the stars.
  565. 565.
    >Out here away from the city, you thought, the whole night sky was lit up, and the few people who lived here could appreciate it.
  566. 566.
    >In the city, there was no sky like this to be seen.
  567. 567.
    >Several orders of magnitudes more people than ever in all human history; would not look at what you were looking at right now, just because it was an hour’s drive away.
  568. 568.
    >In a way, they’d given up the night sky just to earn the living they wanted.
  569. 569.
    >From the start of this Pon-E catastrophe, you’d sensed a great fault in the gestalt of the collective human mind, and you had an inkling that Chad was sensing it too.
  570. 570.
    “If this drug had hit us at any earlier decade, it would have either completely derailed society, or it would have been exterminated from the earth.”
  571. 571.
    >You finally said.
  572. 572.
    >The end of Chad’s cigarette burned to life, and cast one spark sizzling into the snow.
  573. 573.
    >Once he’d exhaled, Chad answered, and you felt the deep tenor of his voice humming from his back.
  574. 574.
    >”I don’t think that’s actually a predictable outcome. But I understand your point. God only knows what would have happened... But it sure as hell wouldn’t have been this... This...”
  575. 575.
    “Dead.”
  576. 576.
    >The word sounded elevated beyond it’s own meaning, when it was muffled by the snow.
  577. 577.
    >You sighed and wrapped your fore legs over Chad’s shoulders and around his chest, then you leaned your head up against his, and stared straight ahead at the moonlit forest.
  578. 578.
    “There’s been no reaction at all, just some social media trends. Is that the only way people can react to anything anymore? It’s been so dead that I’m almost starting to believe your ‘demons’ and ‘NPC’ talk. How can we just brush off something that is so unnatural?”
  579. 579.
    >You’d started gesticulating a bit with your hooves at the end there, and your tail was swishing against the blanket.
  580. 580.
    >Then, you added,
  581. 581.
    “Even I’ve been doing it, I feel like a moron, just playing around.”
  582. 582.
    >Chad stepped out around one last spruce, and into a stand of maple trees.
  583. 583.
    >The way the moon reflected off the icy, barren branches made you feel like things had suddenly gotten a bit better.
  584. 584.
    >Like the atmosphere was not so pressing as it was with the moon bearing down on you and Chad with no cover, between the green needles.
  585. 585.
    >Chad laughed as he stuffed his butted out cig into his pocket ashtray.
  586. 586.
     
  587. 587.
    >”Doesn’t sound like you’re brushing it off to me-”
  588. 588.
    >You were about to protest, but Chad just gently laid his hand on your snout to stop you, and the smell of ashes made your nose wrinkle.
  589. 589.
    >”You’re stuck like this until someone finds a fix anyway, having some freakout will just waste time.”
  590. 590.
    >Your breath escaped you, and you slumped up against Chad in acceptance.
  591. 591.
    >Then he mumbled,
  592. 592.
    >”...That’s how the fuckin’ Bilderberger group would want you to react anyway... To get more people hooked on fuckin’ benzos...”
  593. 593.
    >With a great snort, you laughed and shook into Chad’s shoulder.
  594. 594.
    >A great grin was on his face as he picked his way along through the forest.
  595. 595.
    >The two of you went on like that for a time, in a friendly silence, tracing after the hoofprints.
  596. 596.
    >You were properly warm now, and your cheeks were flushed red and rosy against your white fur.
  597. 597.
    >Chad seemed unaffected by the cold himself, and now that the snow was low, he was having an easy time of it just strolling across the forest floor.
  598. 598.
    >The branches were utterly still overhead, glinting in the night, and you couldn’t remember the last time you’d felt a breeze.
  599. 599.
    >Eventually, a clearing came into view up ahead.
  600. 600.
    >It was a refreshing green, and it looked positively like an oasis after all the stark whites and blacks.
  601. 601.
    >And from it came a dulcet voice, singing in a low, intimate, and laughing tone.
  602. 602.
    >”...No one I know.”
  603. 603.
    >Chad had stopped just a bit short of the clearing, and was half hiding in a bladed stance behind a tree.
  604. 604.
    >You pushed up out of the blanket sling, shivering at the sudden cold air, and stepped your fore hooves on Chad’s head so you could look.
  605. 605.
    >Peeking around the trunk you caught a slice of what you realized was more like a meadow than anything.
  606. 606.
    >The voice sounded like it was just out of view, to the left somewhere, and moving around.
  607. 607.
    >Faintly you could hear the soft crunching of the frosty vegetation being trampled, and it quickly became clear to you from the timing and the rhythm of it that the voice’s owner must be a pony.
  608. 608.
    >You were stricken with a sudden bout of jealousy for them.
  609. 609.
    >Seeing the fresh mint made you lick your lips, and you almost urged Chad to walk over already, but you knew his neuroses would not be satisfied if you didn’t at least say something first.
  610. 610.
    >So you muttered into his ear:
  611. 611.
    “It’s a pony. Who’s it gonna be besides Aisling anyway? Gnomes don’t have voices like that.”
  612. 612.
    >Chad swiftly shot back in a low murmur.
  613. 613.
    >”Gnomes aren’t real.”
  614. 614.
    >You couldn’t believe what you were hearing.
  615. 615.
    >The anticipation of munching on mint was wiped from your mind in an instant, you scowled and spoke.
  616. 616.
    “Gnomes are real.”
  617. 617.
    >With a bored sort of expression on his face, Chad locked eyes with you, and shook his head before once again insisting,
  618. 618.
    >”No, they aren’t.”
  619. 619.
    >You could hardly believe your flicky little ears.
  620. 620.
    >Leave it to him to know just how to push the limit.
  621. 621.
    “Yesterday you told me nukes were fake, now you think GNOMES are fake?”
  622. 622.
    >You hissed under your breath.
  623. 623.
     
  624. 624.
    ##The One with Nemetona
  625. 625.
     
  626. 626.
    >All the while, you could hear that voice coming closer.
  627. 627.
    >Chad turned his head to look, and, seeing nothing, whipped around to stare at you again.
  628. 628.
    >His brow was raised in a kind of bemused surprise, as if he was only just realizing you weren’t kidding
  629. 629.
    >Once more, Chad checked to make sure the pony in the meadow wasn’t near, then he whispered back,
  630. 630.
    >”You seriously think they’re real?”
  631. 631.
    >Your eyes practically rolled out of their sockets, as you sat back in your blanket sling and huffed out a puffball of steam.
  632. 632.
    “Once the Changelings started showing up, I thought it was so obvious that I...”
  633. 633.
    >You lifted a hoof as if to continue, but paused, and instead held the hoof to your chin.
  634. 634.
    >It was so...
  635. 635.
    >So clear to you?
  636. 636.
    >How the fuck did Chad not realize what was going on.
  637. 637.
    >What?
  638. 638.
    >This was the last possible way you could have imagined this scenario playing out, if anything you thought you were going to have to listen to Chad endlessly insist that Pon-E was developed by the Rosicrucians, to keep people from finding out the Moon was a spy satellite or something.
  639. 639.
    >Now that you thought about it, Chad hadn’t really espoused ANY theory he was totally ADAMANT about yet...
  640. 640.
    >When was the last time that had happened?
  641. 641.
    >Your brow furrowed in concern, as you contemplated the possibility that Chad may have caught a cold after all that walking.
  642. 642.
    >Slowly, so that your friend wouldn’t pull away, you pressed the soft frog of your hoof against his forehead to check the temperature.
  643. 643.
    >Chad was surprised at first, then his face settled into something like a laconic exasperation.
  644. 644.
    >He just rolled his eyes and let you get on with your check.
  645. 645.
    >For half a minute the both of you were stock still, just listening to that pony sing while you gauged his warmth.
  646. 646.
    >...Then you pulled your hoof away, and sighed, a little relieved.
  647. 647.
    “Normal I guess.”
  648. 648.
    >Chad seemed to have completely forgotten about the unknown pony at this point, because his next remark came practically at normal speaking volume.
  649. 649.
    >”What are you even talking about Anon? What the hell do Changelings have to do with gnomes? What do gnomes have to do with ANYTHING?”
  650. 650.
    >You shook your head, still not quite believing this was really happening.
  651. 651.
    >This was a watershed moment.
  652. 652.
    >You were not ashamed to admit you’d been proven wrong more than once for doubting Chad.
  653. 653.
    >Oftentimes the difference between thinking he was totally off base, and knowing he was right, was a year’s wait.
  654. 654.
    >Now, finally, the horseshoe was on the other hoof.
  655. 655.
    >You smiled, a little sadly, and spoke plainly.
  656. 656.
    “Gnomes created Pon-E.”
  657. 657.
    >Dumbstruck, Chad could only stare at you.
  658. 658.
    >A long and deep sigh passed your lips, and you pressed your hoof into your forehead to massage away the headache you could feel coming on.
  659. 659.
    >Then suddenly, in a spurt of emotion, you wiggled your hooves and raised your voice to a loud and squeaky falsetto, as Chad looked on in utter confusion.
  660. 660.
    “Ooohhh fairy tale transformatiooons!!! And now... literal fairy tale creeeatures, in the streeets!”
  661. 661.
     
  662. 662.
    >You started a new impression; of the sort of simpleton that would not realize what you had long ago, this time with a fake bassy, booming, moronic voice.
  663. 663.
    “Ummm... So, yeah? There’s shape-shifters? We call them Changelings??? So what????”
  664. 664.
    >Chad’s eyes squinted, and he shook his head in incredulity at what he was hearing.
  665. 665.
    >But your brain and your lungs were already firing on all cylinders for a lengthy rant, and you got on with it at full volume.
  666. 666.
    “THEY’RE SPIRITS!!! You know!? Sprites! Mischievous little faeries! Who the else would do some shit like this!?”
  667. 667.
    >Your friend scoffed and pulled out a fresh cigarette, while you continued.
  668. 668.
    “And where there’s one spirit, there’s always another one. These-”
  669. 669.
    >Chad rolled the cig between his fingers, and, seemingly not satisfied with the quality, swapped for a better one.
  670. 670.
    “Hell, I bet these ‘people’ were Changelings from the start! Not to mention that-”
  671. 671.
    >Finally, your attentive interlocutor dug out his lighter and fired it up, his eyes darting up at the sky for just a moment.
  672. 672.
    “It’s no coincidence that it came out of NYC either, of course the gnomes would strike an urban centre first! That’s the whole point! They-”
  673. 673.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ua97cKVWeI
  674. 674.
    >Chad smiled, and spared himself the rest of your diatribe by stepping into the meadow.
  675. 675.
    “I...”
  676. 676.
    >Pure awe had struck you into a blessed silence.
  677. 677.
    >Ribbons of the most stunning hue of turquoise were streaming across the entire night sky, from the Moon to the mountains at the edge of your sight.
  678. 678.
    >They seemed to wrap and fold around the peaks beyond, a startlingly beautiful contrast to the shadowy triangles, bedecked as they were in stars.
  679. 679.
    >The Milky Way cut askance the aurora, like a slash of diamonds across a field of gemstone.
  680. 680.
    >All the frost upon the fresh meadow below was enkindled in the ghost light from above.
  681. 681.
    >And shining like an heirloom ring in the middle of a jewellery box, was a slight and nimble looking unicorn standing at the centre of the meadow.
  682. 682.
    >Her eyes matched the aurora, and her fur was made of the night sky behind it.
  683. 683.
    >The silver horn on her head, and the silver hooves at the ends of her fine legs gleamed like the stars.
  684. 684.
    >She turned her head up, to see the aurora better, and you nearly cried seeing her platinum mane flow the way it did.
  685. 685.
    >Chad strode forward at a dreamlike pace, while you stared all around, and he casually lifted his hand to catch the unicorn’s eye.
  686. 686.
    >She returned the wave, smiling brightly, before turning her attention to the night sky again.
  687. 687.
    >You think maybe she did a double take when she spotted you on Chad’s back, but you were too distracted by the view to really register that.
  688. 688.
    >The unicorn spoke with that same voice you’d heard singing earlier.
  689. 689.
    >”You must be cold, let me help.”
  690. 690.
    >For the first time, your attention was drawn away from the heavens.
  691. 691.
    >The dusky beauty had laid herself down in a patch of thawed clover and violets, and her playful gaze was fixed on your face.
  692. 692.
     
  693. 693.
    >There was the glimmer of a question in her eyes, but she seemed not to want to ask it, preferring silence.
  694. 694.
    >Suddenly self conscious, you shut your gaping mouth, and shyly rubbed your cheek with a hoof.
  695. 695.
    >The night mare’s horn glowed, just like the light of the aurora, and you found your mouth instantly agape again.
  696. 696.
    >Chad’s shoulders tensed, and you felt a warmth spread all down your body.
  697. 697.
    >He seemed to relax in the same moment, understanding that there was no threat, despite the supernaturalism of the situation.
  698. 698.
    >You could see the same glow from her horn envelop the both of you, before it dissipated into fine glitters of something a poet would certainly call stardust.
  699. 699.
    >After the spell was cast, you felt as if you had been lying in front of a hearth for the past hour.
  700. 700.
    >It was a perfectly pleasant “soaked in” heat, that conjured memories of hot chocolate, and whisky.
  701. 701.
    >...Despite your comfort, you were a little worried how Chad would react, and checked his expression.
  702. 702.
    >But he looked surprisingly calm, considering the situation.
  703. 703.
    >He was straight faced, and met the unicorn’s eyes with his own.
  704. 704.
    >You started to think that maybe the whole “Nightmare” thing was actually his idea of a joke.
  705. 705.
    >The unicorn was smiling a little wryly at Chad now as he let you loose from the blanket, and she asked,
  706. 706.
    >”So, how did you figure I wasn’t some demon?”
  707. 707.
    >Chad quickly shot back,
  708. 708.
    >”I haven’t yet. As far as I know, you are. Keyboard? What do you think?”
  709. 709.
    “Why are you calling me... Ah...”
  710. 710.
    >He didn’t trust her after all, so he wasn’t about to use your real name.
  711. 711.
    >Your friend’s request had snapped you out of your dreamy reverie, and you paid closer attention to the black mare.
  712. 712.
    >The first thought you had was that she must be Aisling, but your own talk earlier about gnomes and Changelings had fomented a flicker of doubt in your mind.
  713. 713.
    >You climbed down from Chad’s back, and finally stepped upon the earth again.
  714. 714.
    >Groaning and sighing, you stretched your whole body, standing on your hind hooves and reaching with your fore legs like a human would reach with their arms.
  715. 715.
    >With one eye open, you remarked to the pony,
  716. 716.
    “Listen, I’m not as paranoid as Chad here, but for now I’m just going to file you as n’Aisling alright? No hard feelings.”
  717. 717.
    >The newly dubbed n’Aisling giggled at you while you shook, and kicked your legs around to get the blood pumping again.
  718. 718.
    >Once your little ritual was complete, you started to look n’Aisling over.
  719. 719.
    >Your eyes passed from her horn, down her laughing expression, past her barrel, and finally settled on the mark on her left flank.
  720. 720.
    >It was an ivory coloured olive tree with reaching branches, a twisted trunk, and coiling roots that wound their way around the entire tree in a full circle, completing the crest.
  721. 721.
    >Frowning, you touched your own symbol, a broken computer keyboard.
  722. 722.
    >You couldn’t help but feel you got gypped, seeing how n’Aisling’s was borne of myth and ancient history.
  723. 723.
    >It brought concepts like logos, peace, and sanctity to the mind.
  724. 724.
     
  725. 725.
    ##Catching up with Friends
  726. 726.
     
  727. 727.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b92EKemUA4A
  728. 728.
    [Deftones-Sextape]
  729. 729.
    >Yours just made people think of rage quitting streamers and gamers screaming slurs over badly compressed microphones.
  730. 730.
    >Also it smelled like Monster, no matter how much you scrubbed.
  731. 731.
    >With your muzzle scrunched, and your mood just a little bitter, you turned your thoughts back to the matter at hoof.
  732. 732.
    >”So? Can you drop the ‘n’ yet?”
  733. 733.
    >n’Aisling interrupted with a sly smile on her face, almost as if she had sussed out your envy.
  734. 734.
    >You lifted a hoof to silence her, as you sat and assumed the Atlas pose.
  735. 735.
    >Frankly you figured this was the real Aisling.
  736. 736.
    >Everything about the way the unicorn talked, and how she hadn’t even asked who you were yet was so much like Aisling.
  737. 737.
    >Total nonchalance, that was her M.O.
  738. 738.
    >It’s not like there was gonna be some other tell that you could discern anyway, Aisling didn’t have a codeword for this kind of thing like you and Chad had.
  739. 739.
    >So instead of rationalizing it for yourself, you started thinking about what kind of bullshit story you could spin to convince Chad that she was Aisling.
  740. 740.
    “Hrrmmmmm....”
  741. 741.
    >You breathed.
  742. 742.
    >Chad had obviously only asked you to figure it out because of the ‘cryptic’ mark on her flank any-
  743. 743.
    >Like lightning, your brain traced a quicksilver path back into the vast archival recesses and corridors worth of symbols you’d seen in your life.
  744. 744.
    >Your face tightened, recognition had struck you raw.
  745. 745.
    >Chad noticed, and his gaze was taken from the aurora, back to you.
  746. 746.
    >You pressed your snout right up close to n’Aisling’s flank, and pressed your hooves on either side to make sure the mark wasn’t being distorted.
  747. 747.
    >n’Aisling’s tail flicked at your face, but otherwise she didn’t react.
  748. 748.
    ”One... two... three...”
  749. 749.
    >With baited breath, you counted out the branches and roots.
  750. 750.
    >Chad watched silently, his cigarette streaming smoke, and so did n’Aisling, albeit with a much more serene expression.
  751. 751.
    “...eight.”
  752. 752.
    >You broke out into a cold sweat, and shock knitted your brow into a grave expression as you pulled away and sat on your rump.
  753. 753.
    >Four branches and four roots, it really was eight in total.
  754. 754.
    >Chad crouched down to your level, looking almost as concerned as you.
  755. 755.
    >Even n’Aisling’s expression was a little muted now...
  756. 756.
    >No, you could confidently affirm that she was Aisling, that was her family’s crest after all, but...
  757. 757.
    “It’s just too perfect, that the crest would change.”
  758. 758.
    >You murmured.
  759. 759.
    >A hand clapped to your head.
  760. 760.
    >”Explain. Bookworm.”
  761. 761.
    >Chad grumbled.
  762. 762.
    >Before you were able to respond, Aisling piped up.
  763. 763.
    >”Oh, it’s numbers right? Like the meanings in the Bible? Eight is-”
  764. 764.
    “Change, new beginnings.”
  765. 765.
    >You finished.
  766. 766.
    >Chad let go of your head and stayed squatted by your side, listening attentively and looking intently at the little olive tree while you expounded at length.
  767. 767.
    “Aisling’s ancestors were nobles, Catholics, so they took an olive tree for their crest, after the grafted tree in Romans 11.”
  768. 768.
    >Aisling nodded, and a pleasant, elated smile bubbled up to her face, as she intuited the whole of it.
  769. 769.
     
  770. 770.
    >”Right, right. I didn’t even think of that. The original has five branches and five roots.”
  771. 771.
    >Chad’s eyes flicked to her, then to you again.
  772. 772.
    “Point being, everywhere in the bible, five is the number of divine appointment.”
  773. 773.
    >Again Aisling contributed, gently excited now.
  774. 774.
    >“ ‘There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?’ ”
  775. 775.
    >She quoted.
  776. 776.
    >The words had such a pleasant ring when she spoke them, that you stayed silent for a moment to appreciate them.
  777. 777.
    >Then you nodded, and appended.
  778. 778.
    “Exactly, when Christ fed the five thousand.”
  779. 779.
    >Now you looked at Chad.
  780. 780.
    “That’s why I was so freaked out, the synchronicity is insane. Her mark has four branches and four roots now. And four is the number of ‘wholeness’, it’s everywhere in nature.”
  781. 781.
    >Chad seemed to be catching on, and he murmured.
  782. 782.
    >”DNA, the 4 nucleobases: cytosine, guanine, adenine and thymine... Physics, the 4 fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism, weak interaction, strong interaction...”
  783. 783.
    “Add em up and you get eight, change, new beginning. I’d say this...”
  784. 784.
    >You swept your hoof generally above yourself and Aisling for emphasis.
  785. 785.
    “Qualifies as ‘change’. It’s also interesting that it specifically takes two pills to make it permanent.”
  786. 786.
    >There was a grim satisfaction on Chad’s face, and he nodded his assent to your assessment, while muttering.
  787. 787.
    >”...Maybe not gnomes... but Templars?..”
  788. 788.
    >’And there he goes,’ you thought.
  789. 789.
    >As usual, the best way to get Chad to trust something was to have it involve cryptic numbers and obscured patterns.
  790. 790.
    >Chad’s brain would be crunching on that all night.
  791. 791.
    >But at least it also meant he wouldn’t be dumping his table salt on Aisling’s doorstep like he promised.
  792. 792.
    >When Chad got like this it was usually best to give him a little time, so you turned to Aisling, and jerked your head to motion; ‘Walk?’
  793. 793.
    >She nodded, and followed you graciously about the meadow, while Chad stayed behind to ruminate.
  794. 794.
    >The aurora was tinged with purple, and still going strong overhead.
  795. 795.
    >Aisling’s spell kept you supernaturally heated against the frigid atmosphere.
  796. 796.
    >And your eyes were locked on the sky above, with your mouth a little agape in muted awe.
  797. 797.
    >You could feel Aisling’s gaze on your face,
  798. 798.
    >Then suddenly you felt a warm fuzzy thing knock into your side, and Aisling giggled.
  799. 799.
    >It had been her, of course, but whether you’d blundered into her or she’d bumped you wasn’t really clear.
  800. 800.
    >Now that she had your attention though, Aisling asked,
  801. 801.
    >”So, who are you really? You remind me a lot of my friend Anonymous.”
  802. 802.
    >Your mouth shut, and your eyes were cast down in a melancholic expression, as you thought on just how much you must have changed for one of your longest running correspondents to not recognize you.
  803. 803.
    >At the back of your mind the thought had niggled you already, but you’d just pretended Aisling was being coy.
  804. 804.
    “I am Anonymous.”
  805. 805.
    >You answered.
  806. 806.
    >Aisling’s eyes glinted in the starlight, and her smile flattened.
  807. 807.
     
  808. 808.
    >The both of you had stopped walking.
  809. 809.
    >”You took two... I’m sorry.”
  810. 810.
    >She said, totally serious for the first time since you’d seen her tonight.
  811. 811.
    >You started trotting again, and stayed silent for the moment while Aisling followed.
  812. 812.
    >Then you answered with a hasty cop-out, whipping your tail.
  813. 813.
    “It’s fine, at least I overdosed on the one drug that doesn’t kill you. When’s the last time over the counter drugs got tainted en-masse like this anyway? ‘82? When you think about it like that, I’m incredibly lucky.”
  814. 814.
    >It was a totally rehashed answer, you’d said much the same to Chad, what felt like forever ago now.
  815. 815.
    >Still you watched Aisling’s expression for her reaction.
  816. 816.
    >Aisling laughed, a little darkly.
  817. 817.
    >You weren’t sure she was convinced.
  818. 818.
    >”I suppose. It sounds like you’ve already muscled through a lot of it in your head? Anything I say will probably just be something you’ve heard before.”
  819. 819.
    >You hip checked Aisling playfully, and said,
  820. 820.
    “You’re the one person besides him-”
  821. 821.
    >Here, you gestured to Chad.
  822. 822.
    “-that I trust to at least say something original, even if it’s total bunk.”
  823. 823.
    >She smiled, and bumped you back, before sitting down again.
  824. 824.
    >You followed suit, noting the violets that surrounded you.
  825. 825.
    >Before turning to look at the sky, your eyes locked to a little sprout of mint.
  826. 826.
    >...You checked to see Chad wasn’t looking, and snapped it up in your mouth.
  827. 827.
    >Aisling didn’t laugh, or even really comment on it, she just moon gazed.
  828. 828.
    >The flavour was stupendously strong, and pleasant.
  829. 829.
    >If it really was just a natural growth of mint, it was extraordinary, or maybe it was just that your sense of taste had changed so much from being a human.
  830. 830.
    >You grinned, and watched the aurora shift to an abyssal magenta.
  831. 831.
    >”Do you want to turn back?”
  832. 832.
    >Aisling asked.
  833. 833.
    >And you responded without flinching,
  834. 834.
    “Yeah. But I’m not exactly desperate or anything.”
  835. 835.
    >Her being so direct made you much more comfortable, and willing to divulge.
  836. 836.
    >Aisling was ponderously pawing a chunk of ice with her silver hoof.
  837. 837.
    >Another pang of faint envy hit you, and you grumbled internally about your plain white appendages.
  838. 838.
    >If you really were gonna be like this for the rest of your life, it wouldn’t have hurt to be a little nicer to look at.
  839. 839.
    >Aisling looked much more like a mare than you, with her slim legs and svelte body.
  840. 840.
    >You were like the Mega Bloks to her Legos.
  841. 841.
    >Your eyes roamed upward, to that gleaming metal spiral.
  842. 842.
    >It especially wouldn’t have hurt to get magic out of the deal...
  843. 843.
    >”Do you want me to take a second one?”
  844. 844.
    >You blinked, hardly believing you’d heard Aisling say that.
  845. 845.
    >With concern, you lifted her chin to get a good look at her eyes.
  846. 846.
    >They were clearly serious.
  847. 847.
    “No. Why?”
  848. 848.
    >You answered decisively.
  849. 849.
    >Aisling sighed and flopped down on her belly, and huffed her silvery mane out of her eyes.
  850. 850.
    >”Sorry, I just felt guilty. I know I shouldn’t, but I did.”
  851. 851.
    >Relief and sympathy buoyed your spirits, and you laughed.
  852. 852.
     
  853. 853.
    ##Onto the Man
  854. 854.
     
  855. 855.
    >The guileless admission your friend made had disintegrated and blown away your envious thoughts.
  856. 856.
    >Your laughter seemed to put Aisling at ease too, she raised her head and smiled again.
  857. 857.
    >As your giggling petered off, you answered.
  858. 858.
    “It’s fine, seriously. I’ll be fine. You don’t have to do anything dramatic like ‘prance this road’ with me or whatever. We came to check on YOU... And I’ve got Chad helping me anyway, you know what he’s like.”
  859. 859.
    >Aisling nodded, and you dodged just in time to avoid getting your eye poked out by her horn.
  860. 860.
    >”No! Oh no... I’m sorry, I’m still not used to this thing yet!”
  861. 861.
    >She began to profusely apologize, with both hooves laid over yours in remuneration.
  862. 862.
    >You just grinned and laughed some more.
  863. 863.
    “It’s fine, you missed.”
  864. 864.
    >After a couple minutes, things settled down, and the two of you were both just gazing at the purple ribbon of light in the sky in silence.
  865. 865.
    >When suddenly, Aisling simply said,
  866. 866.
    >”Yes. Chad’s always been a dependable guy.”
  867. 867.
    >Crunching ice made all four ears between the both of you flick to the east, before the heads they were attached to followed suit.
  868. 868.
    >Chad had squatted down, just a little apart from you and Aisling.
  869. 869.
    >Smiling between chews of his nicotine gum, he waved a hand and casually remarked,
  870. 870.
    >”Keep the conversation going that way, before I infodump about dark nobility, and you change your mind.”
  871. 871.
    >Aisling didn’t even blush, she just propped a hoof under her chin and gave Chad a look that said she at least appreciated he was trying to tease her.
  872. 872.
    >You rolled your eyes, then shuffled along the violets and started dragging Chad in closer with your mouth.
  873. 873.
     
  874. 874.
    ////
  875. 875.
     
  876. 876.
    >A little white horse was biting the zipper on your jacket.
  877. 877.
    >You couldn’t help but laugh.
  878. 878.
    >Anon’s face looked so goofy with her teeth sticking out of her mouth like that.
  879. 879.
    >She’d done the same thing earlier, when she ate the mint while she thought you weren’t looking.
  880. 880.
    >And the expression this time was just plain cartoonish, it was practically a carbon copy of >:|.
  881. 881.
    >Chuckling, you let Anon reel you in.
  882. 882.
    >Once you were pressed up against the side of her barrel, Anonymous bore her haughty expression up at you, and snorted.
  883. 883.
    >By contrast, Aisling grinned almost apologetically, with her ears pinned behind her head while she rubbed Anon’s back with one glittering hoof.
  884. 884.
    >You splayed your legs out, and leaned back on the palms of your hands to get a little more comfortable.
  885. 885.
    >In the back of your mind, you were still mentally storing words to run through a gematria calculator later, but up front you’d just thought of a pretty good needle to stick in your buddy’s ass.
  886. 886.
    >”Anyway, I saw you were reading the Morte d’Arthur...”
  887. 887.
    >Anonymous had started on some lit-geek shit before you poked her in the barrel with your elbow.
  888. 888.
    >In a huff, she turned that same expression from a second ago on you again.
  889. 889.
    >”What?”
  890. 890.
    >You grinned, chewed your gum, and lifted up the box it came in.
  891. 891.
    >The label read ’Ultra Chill Mint’.
  892. 892.
     
  893. 893.
    >Aisling started laughing instantly and tried to stop just as immediately, while Anon just stared in confusion.
  894. 894.
    >Her big blue eyes, pressed into two mean half circles from her brows and framed by her slightly swaying blonde mane, went from the box, to your face, and back again.
  895. 895.
    >Finally, when Aisling had already managed to stop laughing, Anonymous seemed to realize what you were getting at.
  896. 896.
    >Blood flushed her white cheeks a brilliant snowberry scarlet, and she puffed them full of air.
  897. 897.
    >You cackled as a million hooves pummelled your ribs.
  898. 898.
    >Before Anon could start really throwing the rough ones, you grabbed her ‘round the neck and pulled her in close where she couldn’t put her weight into it.
  899. 899.
    >Anonymous’ still bright red face pouted up at you from between your chest and the crook of your elbow.
  900. 900.
    >You grinned back, but spoke with a hint of apologetics.
  901. 901.
    “C’mon, it’s just funny you cared so much that you tried to hide it. Humans can eat mint raw like that too.”
  902. 902.
    >Anon failed to look you in the eye.
  903. 903.
    >Still blushing, she silently went about loosening your grip with her hooves, cursing all the while.
  904. 904.
    >You relented with a sigh, and took a strong right to the liver for your mercy.
  905. 905.
    >Anonymous huffed, already standing on all fours, with a satisfied smirk, while Aisling could hardly look on.
  906. 906.
    “Can’t take the man out of the mare.”
  907. 907.
    >You commented, with a wince, as you got up too.
  908. 908.
    >Anonymous actually laughed at that, blunt and brusque.
  909. 909.
    >”Hear hear.”
  910. 910.
    >Aisling stood up too, nodding patiently, and agreeing in comical solemnity.
  911. 911.
    >”Hear hear.”
  912. 912.
    >All three of you felt the warming spell start to wear off at the same time.
  913. 913.
    >The chill had started in your toes a minute ago, and you could feel it snaking up your arms now too.
  914. 914.
    >You zipped up your jacket tight, and started to prepare the blanket to carry Anon with again, but she shook her head and declined.
  915. 915.
    >”Nah, the snow’s not all that high. I think the magic will last me long enough.
  916. 916.
    “Alright.”
  917. 917.
    >You wrapped it around yourself, inside your jacket instead.
  918. 918.
    >The two ponies went first, and they were already up to their withers in European medieval legend by the time you’d all reached the edge of the meadow.
  919. 919.
    >You stopped to look at the aurora again, but it was already gone.
  920. 920.
    >The moon looked to be heading the same way, in maybe 10 minutes it would be completely hidden behind one of the mountains.
  921. 921.
    >’Better hurry then,’ you thought.
  922. 922.
    >You didn’t know how good pony-vision was at night, but keeping watch over two friends who looked awfully like prey, on a dark moonless night, in the middle of the woods...
  923. 923.
    >It would be a tight spot.
  924. 924.
    >”-yeah Sir Kay is the best, remember when he-”
  925. 925.
    >Anon was ranting excitedly to a more serene, but equally content, Aisling.
  926. 926.
    >You sized them both up and felt pretty sure that you could run with the two of them under your arms if it really came done to the line.
  927. 927.
    >Aisling’s turquoise stare caught you unawares.
  928. 928.
    >There was a knowing smile on her lips as she mouthed the word,
  929. 929.
    >’relax’
  930. 930.
     
  931. 931.
    >And once more you were struck a little dumb by how surreal this all was.
  932. 932.
    >You’d gotten used to seeing Anonymous past ‘Keyboard Masher’, but Aisling was another thing entirely.
  933. 933.
    >Her personality had always been a bit disarming, and not just because you were so hopeless around women.
  934. 934.
    >Inhabiting that myth-like body, Aisling came across every bit the trickster spirit.
  935. 935.
    >It had taken everything you had not to grab Anon and run, the moment her horn had lit up earlier.
  936. 936.
    >Sighing, nodding to Aisling, and picking the sleep from your eyes, you instinctively reached inside your jacket for a cigarette, before stopping yourself.
  937. 937.
    >What bothered you the most about nearly running away back then was that it meant you hadn’t totally trusted Anon’s judgment call, and less trust was exactly the last thing you needed right now.
  938. 938.
    >Ahead, the moonlight was already so much dimmer between the maples.
  939. 939.
    >The eight horse hooves between your two friends trundled along in the snow, sounding a bit like tank treads crawling along.
  940. 940.
    >Your heavier footfalls followed in their wake.
  941. 941.
    >But every few minutes, a different sound, one so quiet you didn’t even believe you’d heard it at first, would reach your ears.
  942. 942.
    >Your attention slowly sharpened to a deadly point, and you stopped walking right when you heard a foreign noise so distinct you couldn’t deny it.
  943. 943.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUEC1Rcb1TA
  944. 944.
    >Aisling and Anonymous had both stopped too.
  945. 945.
    >Their ears were twitching to and fro, aiming at gaps in the branches and trunks.
  946. 946.
    >Anonymous was stanced up, with her fore legs spread, ready to gallop.
  947. 947.
    >Aisling already had one leg raised, and she was peering all ‘round.
  948. 948.
    >You looked at Anon and asked,
  949. 949.
    “What, where.”
  950. 950.
    >Anon looked consternated, thinking, ears aiming, and her eyes too busy looking everywhere else to meet your own.
  951. 951.
    >Eventually she just shook her head, and answered.
  952. 952.
    >”I dunno, everywhere.”
  953. 953.
    >Without another thought, you lunged to scoop up both ponies, but Aisling stopped you, and pointed her hoof between a pair of twinned maples.
  954. 954.
    >”There!”
  955. 955.
    >She whispered.
  956. 956.
    >”I think I saw something like that before too, all red.”
  957. 957.
    >You pivoted round to look, but there was already nothing.
  958. 958.
    >Just as you were about to give up, scoop and run, you saw the blurry red thing for yourself, as it darted from one trunk to another.
  959. 959.
    >Then another, then another.
  960. 960.
    >All the trees in a 10 meter radius were suddenly alive with movement, and you felt it was too late to try any running.
  961. 961.
    >Instinctively, the three of you had backed into each other, with the whole trio facing out towards the still practically incomprehensible beings that surrounded you.
  962. 962.
    >”I knew it was gnomes!”
  963. 963.
    >Anon blurted.
  964. 964.
    “It’s not fucking gnomes...”
  965. 965.
    >You grumbled under your breath.
  966. 966.
    >Aisling was totally quiet, you glanced over and saw she had sat down to focus and becalm herself.
  967. 967.
    >30 seconds of breathless cacophony passed, before everything settled into a deathly silence.
  968. 968.
    >With a shock, you realized what had just been done.
  969. 969.
     
  970. 970.
    >Every foot and hoof print had been swept away.
  971. 971.
    >In the same moment you thought that, and figured you could direct yourself by the moon instead, its light was snuffed out.
  972. 972.
    >Pitch dark wheeled overhead, and below.
  973. 973.
    >The sky was not even pin pricked by the stars, concealed as they were behind a new swell of clouds.
  974. 974.
    “Fuck.”
  975. 975.
    >The moment after you swore, a pale light began to shine from the tip of Aisling’s horn.
  976. 976.
    >Anonymous looked twice as relieved as you were.
  977. 977.
    >You stared all around, but Aisling’s light just reached the lowest parts of the tree trunks around.
  978. 978.
    >In the shadows, you could faintly make out red pointed shapes, everywhere.
  979. 979.
    >Beside trees, in the branches, and between looping roots.
  980. 980.
    >You could hear Anonymous breathing heavy and fast beside you.
  981. 981.
    >”It... it really is gn-gnomes...”
  982. 982.
    >At this point you would believe it was practically anything.
  983. 983.
    >You reached into your jacket and white knuckle gripped the buck knife you kept hidden inside.
  984. 984.
    >A few precious seconds were wasted with pointless babbling thoughts, before you gathered yourself and let go of the knife.
  985. 985.
    >Trying not to sound exasperated or stressed, you asked Aisling,
  986. 986.
    “Can you make that light any brighter?”
  987. 987.
    >Your voice didn’t echo at all, the snow just ate it up.
  988. 988.
    >She shook her head about as regretfully as if you’d asked for another cookie she just didn’t have.
  989. 989.
    >”I tried, but it’s hard to visualize the concept properly.”
  990. 990.
    >You came up with a plan the moment she said ‘hard’, and immediately started acting on it.
  991. 991.
    “Alright... You know these woods better than me, take it slow so we can get a good look at whatever these things are first, but head wherever you think is the way out. I’ll follow. Anon-”
  992. 992.
    >Her head flicked to you.
  993. 993.
    >Anonymous was the most scared you’d ever seen her.
  994. 994.
    >Her teeth were chattering, her ears were pinned flat to her head, and her tail was pressed against her belly.
  995. 995.
    >There was no way she was going to walk ahead of you, and if you let her follow, she might get snatched or bolt while you weren’t looking.
  996. 996.
    “C’mere. Watch my back.”
  997. 997.
    >She relaxed a little as you picked her up and slung her over your shoulder, but you could still feel her furry sides shiver against your cheek every now and again.
  998. 998.
    >Aisling started walking, one slow hoof in front of the other.
  999. 999.
    >You stalked after her, and kept your eyes on the edge of her hornlight.
  1000. 1000.
    >Those damned things, whatever they were, vanished the moment the light would have passed over them.
  1001. 1001.
    >Yet you could always see more of those distinct red pointed shapes, just out of proper reckoning.
  1002. 1002.
    >You and Aisling went on like that for what felt like forever, but your phone told you it had been three minutes.
  1003. 1003.
    >God only knew if you were even heading the right way.
  1004. 1004.
    >Out of desperation, you hissed to Anonymous,
  1005. 1005.
    “What do you even say to gnomes, is there some kind of bullshit greeting they have to answer?”
  1006. 1006.
    >Anon shuddered hard, and her tail fluttered in your face, blinding you for a second.
  1007. 1007.
     
  1008. 1008.
    >”T-t-the t-t-typical w-western garden gnome is actually more a-akin to the Sc-Scandinavian nisse...”
  1009. 1009.
    >You had figured that speaking from her field of interest would give Anon some comfort.
  1010. 1010.
    >She collected herself as she continued.
  1011. 1011.
    >”Red pointed hats are characteristic of the depictions of the nisse...”
  1012. 1012.
    >She whispered in your ear.
  1013. 1013.
    >“Judging by what we’re looking at here, it’s safe to guess that these may be a little more adherent to Scandinavian folklore than the passages written by Paracelsus on the subject... Nisse are responsible for the-”
  1014. 1014.
    >You gently patted Anon on the back.
  1015. 1015.
    ”What would they want?”
  1016. 1016.
    >Her tail floated in front of your face again.
  1017. 1017.
    >”...they might appreciate some kind of gift.”
  1018. 1018.
    >Aisling stopped and bent her lovely neck to peer up at you, asking with just a look; if you wanted to try gifting them something.
  1019. 1019.
    >You nodded in the affirmative, and slowly started to peel Anonymous off of your shoulder.
  1020. 1020.
    >She looked cool, and determined, now that there was some kind of ‘understanding’ reached.
  1021. 1021.
    >”Try the rum you brought first.”
  1022. 1022.
    >Anon contributed.
  1023. 1023.
    >And you agreed,
  1024. 1024.
    “Alright. Everyone just stay still.”
  1025. 1025.
    >As if you had a gun drawn on you, you peered all round, and moved as steadily and deliberately as possible.
  1026. 1026.
    >You reached into your right-hand pocket for your metal flask, and held it aloft.
  1027. 1027.
    “It’s spiced rum. Decent shit, not mass brewed swill. Let’s talk.”
  1028. 1028.
    >There was no response.
  1029. 1029.
    >The red cones didn’t move a millimetre.
  1030. 1030.
    >Aisling’s pulsing light played tricks on your eyes, making you imagine they were swaying, but you knew it wasn’t so.
  1031. 1031.
    >...Maybe they weren’t drinkers?
  1032. 1032.
    >You started on a new tactic, and reached into your jacket for your cigarettes.
  1033. 1033.
    “Alright maybe-”
  1034. 1034.
    >”The drink’d be fine boy. Just’n hold yer horses.”
  1035. 1035.
    >The voice that piped up was exactly how you’d have a imagined a gnome’s, high, tinny, jolly and in an insufferably british/irish/scottish/whatever hell bastard blend of an accent.
  1036. 1036.
    >Another, similar voice quickly added,
  1037. 1037.
    >”Well he’s already held one horse hasn’t he!?”
  1038. 1038.
    >A tumult of jolly laughter echoed from all around.
  1039. 1039.
    >All the gnomes had begun to banter and bicker.
  1040. 1040.
    >What you figured was the first gnome who spoke up, stepped out into the light.
  1041. 1041.
    >Anonymous gasped.
  1042. 1042.
    >Tall red cap, frizzy grey beard, a tricky gleam in blue eyes, rosy cheeks and a red button nose.
  1043. 1043.
    >All the surrealism of Aisling from earlier felt just like home compared to this.
  1044. 1044.
    >You whipped your head around.
  1045. 1045.
    >Anonymous was frozen in shock and surprise, and Aisling was already conversing with a pair of two other similar looking gnomes.
  1046. 1046.
    >A particular gnome let Anon’s tail fall from his hand, and then nodded at it in an approving, appraising sort of way.
  1047. 1047.
    >She wheeled on him, but didn’t seem to know what to do, so she just stared.
  1048. 1048.
    >For that fact, you didn’t really know what to do either.
  1049. 1049.
    >Absentmindedly, you let the gnome who’d spoken take the flask from your hand and take a swig.
  1050. 1050.
    >”Thank ya.”
  1051. 1051.
     
  1052. 1052.
    ##Making Trades
  1053. 1053.
     
  1054. 1054.
    >He capped and threw it to another gnome who repeated the process, drinking and passing again.
  1055. 1055.
    >The tone shift was so drastic, it was like you’d been airdropped into an Irish pub.
  1056. 1056.
    >Two gnomes were arm wrestling on a big toadstool you were sure hadn’t been there before.
  1057. 1057.
    >A third gnome had joined Aisling’s conversation, to drunkenly complement her mane.
  1058. 1058.
    >The lead gnome you’d first passed the rum to was pointing around and trading jokes and jibes with his subordinates.
  1059. 1059.
    >All the while the rum kept jumping around like a hot potato.
  1060. 1060.
    >On the surface the situation was like some cheery little painting.
  1061. 1061.
    >But that queer disquietude from moments ago hadn’t actually dissipated at all.
  1062. 1062.
    >It didn’t even feel like it had become a part of the background, the tension was thick and palpable.
  1063. 1063.
    >You could see it on Aisling’s face, that she sensed it too.
  1064. 1064.
    >She was keeping her interlocutors just far enough from her, and she hadn’t sat down or gotten comfortable at all.
  1065. 1065.
    >The three gnomes around her had moved on to talking about the meadow,
  1066. 1066.
    >”-planted ‘er right all by my lonesome! No help from this bleedin’-”
  1067. 1067.
    >Aisling giggled, and it sunk to the bottom of your heart like lead shot, there had been so little joy in it.
  1068. 1068.
    >Anon... Well she was practically catatonic right now.
  1069. 1069.
    >There was nothing you wanted more than to drop kick the gnome that was sizing her up, but...
  1070. 1070.
    >This wasn’t over yet.
  1071. 1071.
    >They were still encircling the three of you.
  1072. 1072.
    >A heart pumping shot of adrenaline raced through your veins, when you realized there were even more of them waiting just outside of the hornlight than before.
  1073. 1073.
    >Your fists balled up instinctively.
  1074. 1074.
    >”Y’alright lad? The deal was we talk, eh?”
  1075. 1075.
    >The first gnome again.
  1076. 1076.
    >He’d just got done making another joke at another gnome’s expense, and was grinning at you, a bit bemused.
  1077. 1077.
    >Despite being factually the most whimsical thing you’d ever seen, upon observation, he was grotesque.
  1078. 1078.
    >His eyes weren’t right for his expression, they looked cold and piercing.
  1079. 1079.
    >Under the little tunic you could see the gnome was built like a coal miner.
  1080. 1080.
    >There was a penknife on his belt, although now that you thought about it, to him it was as big as a buck skinning knife.
  1081. 1081.
    >Your eyes darted around, and you confirmed that all the gnomes had some kind of weapon strapped, from blackjacks to slings.
  1082. 1082.
    >All his clothes looked to be tanned and dyed leather, rabbit-hide?
  1083. 1083.
    >Where he stepped, he left no prints.
  1084. 1084.
    >It was like he was floating just above the surface of the snow.
  1085. 1085.
    >Despite your racing heart, you put on a relaxed smile.
  1086. 1086.
    “Yeah, let’s talk. Sooo... why did you follow us, and erase our tracks?”
  1087. 1087.
    >You looked all around like you were a moron as you asked your question with a fake naivete so put on it must prove to be convincing again.
  1088. 1088.
    >The gnome laughed and scratched the back of his little head, knocking his cap to the ground.
  1089. 1089.
    >Laughing some more at his ‘clumsiness’, he doddered after the rolling cone and picked it up.
  1090. 1090.
    >So that was his game.
  1091. 1091.
     
  1092. 1092.
    >The way he’d moved, if you wanted to keep him in sight, you had to have your back to both ponies.
  1093. 1093.
    >By way of trade for the disadvantage, you took a bladed stance so that Anon’s statuesque figure was still in your peripheral.
  1094. 1094.
    >You could just barely watch Aisling’s back as well.
  1095. 1095.
    >The gnome that felt Anon’s tail earlier was waving his hand in front of her glazed eyes now.
  1096. 1096.
    >He had a particularly nasty looking barbed hook on his belt.
  1097. 1097.
    >Your attention was drawn back to the lead gnome when he finally stopped laughing and answered your question.
  1098. 1098.
    >”Oh, that? Just the usual little tricksies, lad. We smelt that liquor on ye and wanted some ourselfs. Not to mention its been nigh a century since we seen a unicorn in these woods.”
  1099. 1099.
    >That was a clear lie by omission, the gnome never said they meant no harm, and padded his sentence with two factual declarative sentences to make it sound like a reasonable excuse, but he’d never justified their actions at all.
  1100. 1100.
    >You tore a laugh from your gut, and stared down at the little beard puller as you replied.
  1101. 1101.
    “Well you got us. You know it’s funny, my friend was just talking about you guys earlier.”
  1102. 1102.
    >The gnome adjusted his cap, and nodded.
  1103. 1103.
    >”Aye, so Biblin was telling me also. She reckons we made that little horse transfigurin’ brew.”
  1104. 1104.
    >At this point, the gnome stepped just a little to your left, to point into the woods were ‘Biblin’ supposedly was and hollered,
  1105. 1105.
    >”Eh?! Biblin? That’s what yer tawny feckless ears picked up eh?!”
  1106. 1106.
    >You had no choice but to turn on your heel, to keep him in sight, and you nearly tripped over a mushroom in the process.
  1107. 1107.
    >The gnome turned his grinning face up at you and laughed.
  1108. 1108.
    >”Watch yerself!”
  1109. 1109.
    >You took the luxury of imagining your boot going through his teeth.
  1110. 1110.
    >But now Aisling wasn’t visible to you anymore.
  1111. 1111.
    >You could hear her telling some lie about there being more people on the way to her house for a get-together, and it eased your stress a little.
  1112. 1112.
    >She was always composed, and while you didn’t know exactly what kind of magic she could use, just the fact she had it was reassuring.
  1113. 1113.
    >But Anonymous...
  1114. 1114.
    >You glanced over.
  1115. 1115.
    >She’d finally come back to reality, and was asking about a million rapid fire questions to the gnome in front of her.
  1116. 1116.
    >”-do you really drink dew!? Do you guys like, like ride rabbits like horses? And can you move through the earth like air? You guys do deals right? Can-”
  1117. 1117.
    >Judging from the earnest excitement on Anon’s face, you were almost certain she didn’t understand the gravity of the situation.
  1118. 1118.
    >Ah, she was cute though.
  1119. 1119.
    >She was literally bouncing up and down on the edge of her hooves, and her messy mane kept getting in her eyes.
  1120. 1120.
    >You smiled, and felt re-invigorated.
  1121. 1121.
    >The odds seemed pretty stacked, but you didn’t really know what the gnome’s motives were anyway.
  1122. 1122.
    >For all you knew, this position wasn’t even all that good for them.
  1123. 1123.
     
  1124. 1124.
    >Something about the look in the lead gnome’s eyes implied otherwise however.
  1125. 1125.
    >You decided it was best to keep him talking for now, but first you had to nip one avenue of attack in the bud.
  1126. 1126.
    >Without shifting your feet, you turned to face Anonymous, then leaned over and patted her on the back to catch her attention.
  1127. 1127.
    >She pointed her smiling face up at you, and casually asked,
  1128. 1128.
    >”’Sup?”
  1129. 1129.
    >The smile you returned wasn’t totally fake at least.
  1130. 1130.
    “Don’t cut any deals with these guys just yet alright? You never know when you’re gonna get the chance for something like this again, so we should make it count. It’s not like it’s zero-dark-thirty yet, we’ve got plenty of time to get home.”
  1131. 1131.
    >Anon’s eyes bored into yours at the words ‘zero-dark-thirty’, the codeword you’d spent years drilling into her head for just such an occasion.
  1132. 1132.
    >’not... zero-dark-thirty’, always meant ‘something isn’t right’.
  1133. 1133.
    >The gnomes might notice, but it was the best solution you could think of in the moment.
  1134. 1134.
    >The fact they didn’t just take the ponies hostage the second you said it was all that mattered.
  1135. 1135.
    >Whether they realized or not, you’d gotten away with it.
  1136. 1136.
    >Anon nodded, looking suddenly pensive.
  1137. 1137.
    >She didn’t give you any knowing looks or anything to give up the game.
  1138. 1138.
    >”True...”
  1139. 1139.
    >Then she went right back to bombarding the clearly exhausted gnome with more questions, with a now usefully honest curiousity.
  1140. 1140.
    >As you stood up straight again, you immediately noticed the lead gnome had taken the chance to wander even more to the right.
  1141. 1141.
    >You took a step back instead of pivoting any further, unwilling to let Anonymous out of your sight.
  1142. 1142.
    >This time you stepped over the mushroom without looking, and put on a happy face before you inquired,
  1143. 1143.
    >”So, what’s your name anyway?”
  1144. 1144.
    >The gnome’s smile in response was oddly subtle compared to before.
  1145. 1145.
    >He raised a finger to indicate you had to wait a moment, then he sat down and yanked off one of his little boots.
  1146. 1146.
    >The revealed appendage was a gnarled mess that better resembled a tree root than a foot.
  1147. 1147.
    >You couldn’t stop your eyes from narrowing in aversion.
  1148. 1148.
    >The gnome slapped his leg with a jocular pride and answered,
  1149. 1149.
    >”They call me Clapperleg, on account of my witherin’ feet.”
  1150. 1150.
    >Clapperleg winced and whistled in momentary pain as he pulled his boot back on.
  1151. 1151.
    >While your mind raced to find some kind of leverage you could hold over these gnomes.
  1152. 1152.
    >He outright said Clapperleg was an alias, did that mean their real names held some kind of power over them?
  1153. 1153.
    >They might be more like demons then...
  1154. 1154.
    >You thought mournfully of the holy water you’d left behind in the car.
  1155. 1155.
    >It was a struggle to find something to talk about now, Clapperleg was just so obscene to look at, and you were still worried this whole situation could turn into a gnome holding a knife to Anon’s throat.
  1156. 1156.
     
  1157. 1157.
    >Somehow Aisling was trucking on, about tea or something, and you wished you had that gift of gab.
  1158. 1158.
    >You cursed your lack of knowledge of myth and legend too, you were willing to bet just the alias ‘Clapperleg’ would tell Anonymous everything she needed to know about him.
  1159. 1159.
    >But she was too wrapped up with interrogating that other gnome.
  1160. 1160.
    >You could only hope she would take the hint from earlier and try to glean some weakness, then convey it to you.
  1161. 1161.
    >Clapperleg was looking at you expectantly, since you were obviously taking too long to say anything.
  1162. 1162.
    >...Fuck it, you had to take your chances with a riskier topic.
  1163. 1163.
    “So what kinds of deals do you guys do anyway?”
  1164. 1164.
    >Clapperleg tugged at his beard, pondering, then said with a grin,
  1165. 1165.
    >”Well, almost anything really lad. We’ve got certain standards, ye understand, but so long as the trade is fair we ain’t opposed.”
  1166. 1166.
    >The gnome flicked his gaze over at Anonymous.
  1167. 1167.
    >”Shiftin’ shapes is somethin’ of our speciality. Though we haven’t been botherin’ with humans much in the past while.”
  1168. 1168.
    >Now Clapperleg seemed to reminisce, as he paced annoyingly close to being just outside your field of view.
  1169. 1169.
    “I reckon’ it was sometime in the aeon of the Sieve when- Oh I s’pose you wouldn’t understand that... In your time, it must have been the early 1900’s, was the last time I traded perfect beauty to a woman.”
  1170. 1170.
    >In your head, your mistrust of the gnomes waged war with the tempting possibility of turning Anonymous back to normal.
  1171. 1171.
    >You snapped out of it right away though.
  1172. 1172.
    >This fucking gnome shithead had already admitted to listening in on your conversations earlier anyway, he’d obviously heard Anon say she wanted to turn back, and now he was trying to psyop you with it.
  1173. 1173.
    >You feigned curiosity.
  1174. 1174.
    “What did she trade for that?”
  1175. 1175.
    >Clapperleg pursed his lips, and for once he made it obvious he was carefully choosing his words.
  1176. 1176.
    >”Well it wasn’t like she went an’ gave anything up. She just did us a wee favor, involving another trade.”
  1177. 1177.
    >You cocked your head to the side.
  1178. 1178.
    >Sighing, and scratching his head, Clapperleg paced back to where you could see him more comfortably.
  1179. 1179.
    >”If you really must know lad, then fine, but it wasn’t a nice business. We don’t like havin’ our hands forced, but when it comes to our land you know...”
  1180. 1180.
    >The gnome fidgeted his fingers before continuing.
  1181. 1181.
    >”We had her help put a stop to a mine for us eh? They wanted ter’ dig a bloody biggun’ right here. And that was part of another sorta deal we had with an industry competitor y’see...”
  1182. 1182.
    >You couldn’t believe your ears.
  1183. 1183.
    >Gnomes were actually involved in interrupting the expansion of industry.
  1184. 1184.
     
  1185. 1185.
    ##Gnome ‘Truth’
  1186. 1186.
     
  1187. 1187.
    >In five minutes, Clapperleg exposed the entire intrigue, which involved the gnomes producing falsified reports of dangerous substances that would make the mining impossible.
  1188. 1188.
    >Along with a lengthy series of contrived adulterous relationships the woman from earlier had been ordered to partake in as part of the deal, that ruined the reputation of every shareholder of the company in charge of the new mine.
  1189. 1189.
    >Anonymous was literally correct.
  1190. 1190.
    >It only followed that the gnomes must have made PON-E.
  1191. 1191.
    >You could hardly believe this Clapperleg guy was giving it all away... was it because of the deal to ‘talk’?
  1192. 1192.
    >Were they really the kind of creatures to give this all up for a flask of rum?
  1193. 1193.
    >Your head swivelled round to look at Anon, but she was still too busy rambling at the other gnome, and evidently hadn’t heard what Clapperleg had said.
  1194. 1194.
    >That was too bad, but Clapperleg’s expression made you feel confident in the assumption that he must be suffering from the compulsion your trade had imposed.
  1195. 1195.
    >The tricky glimmer in his eye was gone, and he was nervously looking from side to side.
  1196. 1196.
    >For the first time in the conversation, Clapperleg asked you a question instead, with both of his rough, calloused hands held in front of his chest.
  1197. 1197.
    >”Listen lad, I’m thinkin’ we both know what this is really ‘bout now eh?”
  1198. 1198.
    >He glanced at Anonymous, and nodded his head.
  1199. 1199.
    >“Your friend wants to be human again, don’t she?”
  1200. 1200.
    >Before you could say anything, Anon interjected.
  1201. 1201.
    >”...You can change me back?”
  1202. 1202.
    >You cursed under your breath.
  1203. 1203.
    >The one time she took a break from her rant...
  1204. 1204.
    >No, Clapperleg must have been waiting until she did.
  1205. 1205.
    >Was that why he looked ‘nervous’ a second ago?
  1206. 1206.
    >Anonymous walked over to Clapperleg, looking highly doubtful, but obviously interested.
  1207. 1207.
    >At that point, you decided it was high time to drop all pretenses.
  1208. 1208.
    >You had to grab Anonymous and run, before she struck some Faustian compact with these freaks.
  1209. 1209.
    >But you couldn’t even lift your legs.
  1210. 1210.
    >Dumbstruck, you stared down at your feet.
  1211. 1211.
    >What caught your eye first was the uncanny ring of toadstools around them, but then you noticed the familiar turquoise glow enveloping your ankles.
  1212. 1212.
    >You saw it, but the idea of Aisling doing this was so inconceivable you actually reached out and touched the light, as if that would be proof of the fact.
  1213. 1213.
    >The culprit stepped into view, sat down, and eyed you quietly.
  1214. 1214.
    >Totally baffled, you exclaimed to Aisling,
  1215. 1215.
    “What are you doing?”
  1216. 1216.
    >Anonymous looked on in abject horror at the mushrooms around your feet.
  1217. 1217.
    >”N-no... that’s...”
  1218. 1218.
    >Aisling shushed Anon, shook her head, and pointed to one of the mushrooms.
  1219. 1219.
    >Her placid expression, contrasting how urgent this was, made you want to scream.
  1220. 1220.
    >But still she kept herself as calm as ever, and answered,
  1221. 1221.
    >”It’s a fairy ring. You have to stay inside of it for now, because you’ll be hit with a curse if you step out.”
  1222. 1222.
     
  1223. 1223.
    >While you frowned at the circle, Aisling motioned to the three other gnomes she’d been talking to, and each of them had the same slimy grin on their faces.
  1224. 1224.
    >”They offered to teach me how to nullify the ring and stop the curse from happening, if I keep you from stepping out of it until Clapperleg is done talking to Anonymous.”
  1225. 1225.
    >The silence was deafening.
  1226. 1226.
    >The gnomes had all stopped their fake gambolling, and simply watched the situation unfold with ice cold expressions.
  1227. 1227.
    “What is it actually going to do?”
  1228. 1228.
    >You asked Aisling, but Anon answered, with a steady, dead voice,
  1229. 1229.
    >”Probably you’ll just turn into something else. You could also ‘just’ crumble to dust, ‘just’ disappear into the faerie realm or ‘just’ age several decades. Take your pick, every nation in Europe has a varying account on what a fairy ring will do.”
  1230. 1230.
    >Her blue eyes were staring holes into yours.
  1231. 1231.
    >The last few words went unspoken.
  1232. 1232.
    >’So don’t try to step out of it, no matter what happens next.’
  1233. 1233.
    >It was a hard look to meet, because you knew if it really came down to the wire, you would be going against her wishes.
  1234. 1234.
    >So you turned your gaze on Aisling instead.
  1235. 1235.
    >Her facade had already begun to crumble away.
  1236. 1236.
    >Aisling’s eyes were shut, her ears were drooping, and each hoof gave out one by one as you watched.
  1237. 1237.
    >Finally she crumpled into the snow, and covered her head with both fore hooves.
  1238. 1238.
    >”...I’m sorry... I just didn’t... I didn’t think...”
  1239. 1239.
    >Sympathy crashed through your soul, but you didn’t know what words to say.
  1240. 1240.
    >All these fairy tales were frankly out of your field.
  1241. 1241.
    >You smiled and felt reassured by the fact that Aisling and Anonymous were both looking out for you that way though.
  1242. 1242.
    >Being careful not to fall away from the toadstool circle, you knelt down and gently slid your hand between Aisling’s hooves to lay it on her head.
  1243. 1243.
    >A few seconds passed that way, and you stared into her silver mane, waiting patiently for a response.
  1244. 1244.
    >Aisling slowly started to raise her head, and just when her bright eyes came into view, you tousled her mane the way you always did to Anon’s.
  1245. 1245.
    >Grinning, you stood back up, and laughed at the lazy blinking that passed for Aisling’s surprise.
  1246. 1246.
    >”Chad you moron we’re in deep shit here!”
  1247. 1247.
    >Soundly ignoring Anon’s chiding, you beckoned Aisling to stand.
  1248. 1248.
    “Now get up you lazy bookworm, and make sure I don’t fall out of this dumb circle.”
  1249. 1249.
    >Your friendly out of the neighbourhood unicorn sighed and tossed her mane just once as she stood.
  1250. 1250.
    >Instantly, all your mussing and fussing of her silvery locks vanished into the wave of argent hues.
  1251. 1251.
    >Aisling levelled a terrifically ironic smile at you, and suddenly you felt like you should be looking up at her instead.
  1252. 1252.
    >”Hold still then, imbecile.”
  1253. 1253.
    >You laughed, but it was drier than before.
  1254. 1254.
    >The situation was bad, not impossible to navigate, but bad.
  1255. 1255.
    >It all hinged on Anonymous, and you could communicate with her more directly now.
  1256. 1256.
    >And that was like saying it was in the bag.
  1257. 1257.
     
  1258. 1258.
    >Even if the gnomes decided to get physical, now you knew Aisling had magic that was strong enough to restrain a human male, let alone hurt a gnome.
  1259. 1259.
    >You were the most at risk here, and you liked it better that way.
  1260. 1260.
    >Anonymous winked at you, then rounded on Clapperleg.
  1261. 1261.
    >”Don’t fuck with my friends!”
  1262. 1262.
    >Clapperleg shook his head, and replied with the most infuriating flippancy.
  1263. 1263.
    >”I didn’t ‘fuck’ with anything ya bleedin’ fool. The lad stepped in it all by his self. Wasn’t like it weren’t obvious.”
  1264. 1264.
    >Shaking her head in disbelief, Anon kept pressuring him,
  1265. 1265.
    >”You’re trying to pass this off as an accident? Do you honestly think I’m too stupid to tell you’re holding Chad hostage?”
  1266. 1266.
    >Clapperleg huffed, and voiced his own ‘disbelief’,
  1267. 1267.
    >”Hostage? It was MY gnomes that done offered that lass the way to save him from his own mistake, wasn’t it?”
  1268. 1268.
    >Still with their cold expressions, a few gnomes gave a heartless cheer of,
  1269. 1269.
    >”Hear, hear.”
  1270. 1270.
    >For their leader.
  1271. 1271.
    >You physically cringed, comparing it to your banter with Anon and Aisling earlier.
  1272. 1272.
    >Anonymous rebutted,
  1273. 1273.
    >”Yeah, ONLY after we’re done talking though. It’s clear that-”
  1274. 1274.
    >This was going nowhere, it was about time you said something.
  1275. 1275.
    >First, you had to tell Anonymous that ‘Clapperleg’ was an alias.
  1276. 1276.
    “Don’t bother with semantics thEY’LL-”
  1277. 1277.
    >Your voice had snuffed itself out.
  1278. 1278.
    >Desperately, you clutched your throat.
  1279. 1279.
    >There wasn’t a speck of air passing through it anymore, and you couldn’t even cough if you wanted to.
  1280. 1280.
    >Your eyes locked to Clapperleg’s in shock and anger.
  1281. 1281.
    >The gnome simply sighed and shook his head, almost piteously.
  1282. 1282.
    >”Yer violatin’ the deal lad, we’ve all had our fill of rum, yeh shan’t be talkin’ to us no more.”
  1283. 1283.
    >Anonymous was equal parts concerned, confused and baleful.
  1284. 1284.
    >You tried, and failed to even mouth any words, then slammed a fist to your thigh for how stupid you’d been.
  1285. 1285.
    >Your face was red and wrathful as you thought back to all the mistakes you’d made.
  1286. 1286.
    >You’d spent all that time worrying about them taking your friends hostage, and never spared a second thinking about them taking you instead.
  1287. 1287.
    >Your wording from the start had been too vague, ‘let’s talk’ could imply practically any combination of people, ponies and gnomes in that context.
  1288. 1288.
    >From how silent Aisling was suddenly, you could only assume it had been applied to her as well.
  1289. 1289.
    >She was biting her lip, and her brow was furrowed in a delicately pained expression of doubt and regret.
  1290. 1290.
    >...But of course, they let Anonymous speak, they wouldn’t be able to conclude an offer otherwise.
  1291. 1291.
    >This was unforgivable.
  1292. 1292.
    >A cold fury like nothing else was burning in the pit of your stomach as you looked on helplessly.
  1293. 1293.
    >”What the fuck is this!?”
  1294. 1294.
    >Anonymous continued to rage.
  1295. 1295.
    >”Why would I ever trade with you if this is the kind of shit you’re gonna pull?!”
  1296. 1296.
    >Clapperleg sighed once more, and took a step back from your screaming friend.
  1297. 1297.
     
  1298. 1298.
    >”Because ya need us lass. And we need you. The deal we have in mind is a happy one, I swears it.”
  1299. 1299.
    >The camel’s back had finally been broken.
  1300. 1300.
    >Anonymous didn’t even honour that statement with a word at first, opting for a derisive snort as she pretended to walk away.
  1301. 1301.
    >Then with cold iron fury and a deft slide on her hooves, she got in as close to Clapperleg as possible and bucked him in the chest.
  1302. 1302.
    >Her sinews rippled from the force, and sent the gnome tumbling on his back half a dozen times before he slammed into the tree behind him.
  1303. 1303.
    >”YEAH WELL TOO BAD.”
  1304. 1304.
    >Clapperleg was standing up, bleeding from his mouth and holding a hand up to stop his followers from acting.
  1305. 1305.
    >Anon pranced up to him, affecting a childish voice,
  1306. 1306.
    >” ‘Ya neeeeeeeed~ us~ lass~~~~!!!!’ ”
  1307. 1307.
    >Before screaming in his face.
  1308. 1308.
    >”THAT WAS BEFORE YOU USED AISLING LIKE A TOOL TO HOLD CHAD AT THE END OF A FAIRY SHAPED GUN, MORON.”
  1309. 1309.
    >As if he’d never really seen it before, Clapperleg daubed at the blood on his mouth and examined it curiously.
  1310. 1310.
    >Anon scoffed, her taste for violence seemed to be sated.
  1311. 1311.
    >She started walking back over to you as she flatly said,
  1312. 1312.
    >”We’re done here. I’m not going to make any sort of deal with you.”
  1313. 1313.
    >Clapperleg stood up, brushed off his jerkin, and followed.
  1314. 1314.
    >Still cruelly calm, Anon balefully looked over her shoulder at him and continued,
  1315. 1315.
    >”Now that we’re done talking, the deal with Aisling should take effect, your gnomes have to tell her how to dispel the fairy ring.”
  1316. 1316.
    >Perfect.
  1317. 1317.
    >You laughed and dug out a cigarette to celebrate it was so perfect.
  1318. 1318.
    >Couldn’t have done it better yourself.
  1319. 1319.
    >If you could say that to Anonymous already, then it really would be perfect.
  1320. 1320.
    >Instead you just settled for grinning around your rollie at her, and she nodded back, smiling a little regretfully.
  1321. 1321.
    >”No.”
  1322. 1322.
    >Clapperleg answered.
  1323. 1323.
    >Your brow furrowed.
  1324. 1324.
    >But what stunned you more was Aisling’s reaction.
  1325. 1325.
    >She’d broken out into a long, pained moan.
  1326. 1326.
    >It was quiet, but that made it sound all the worse, like someone being strangled under a pillow.
  1327. 1327.
    >You couldn’t see her face, she’d covered it with her hooves.
  1328. 1328.
    >Anonymous was going to walk over to see what was wrong, but Clapperleg’s next words stopped her in her tracks.
  1329. 1329.
    >”The contract says: ‘Keep Chad inside the fairy ring, until Clapperleg is done talking to Anonymous, and we’ll tell you how to disarm it.’ “
  1330. 1330.
    >The terrible implication struck the three of you nearly dead.
  1331. 1331.
    >You’d rather Clapperleg grinned, or made some obvious expression of his insidious nature, but maybe he knew that was what you wanted instead of this dead, fish eyed look, as he spoke again,
  1332. 1332.
    >”You can be done talking to me, but I’m not done talking to you.”
  1333. 1333.
    >The accent was gone, the sparkle in his eyes was gone, his hat had fallen off and he didn’t care.
  1334. 1334.
    >Even the other gnomes had left.
  1335. 1335.
    >It was just you, Anonymous, Aisling and this twisted little un-man in the middle of the night.
  1336. 1336.
     
  1337. 1337.
    ##The Cards are on the Table
  1338. 1338.
     
  1339. 1339.
    >You knew Anonymous.
  1340. 1340.
    >He was as trustworthy a friend as there ever was.
  1341. 1341.
    >And if there was one thing you felt you had to mention, it was that he had integrity.
  1342. 1342.
    >But you knew Anonymous as Keyboard Masher too, and she was just that little bit softer, just that tiny speck more pliant.
  1343. 1343.
    >So even though what she said next was exactly the worst thing you could have imagined, you weren’t caught off guard.
  1344. 1344.
    >Keyboard Masher’s desperate eyes darted away from Clapperleg’s, and she barely mumbled, between her hyperventilating,
  1345. 1345.
    >”...Will you let my friends go?”
  1346. 1346.
    >The gnome smiled like a father to a daughter, and spread his arms wide in a welcoming gesture.
  1347. 1347.
    >All of his gnomishness came back at once.
  1348. 1348.
    >”Of course. Of course! That’s a freebie, honest. Not even a part of the deal. We don’t want to take em from you in the first place. Now let me tell you the details of the real offer, gal, let me tell you. It’s the simplest thing in the world.”
  1349. 1349.
    >The little white pony your friend had become, breathed deep and looked to be steeling her resolve.
  1350. 1350.
    >But you knew it was fruitless.
  1351. 1351.
    >Clapperleg began to explain,
  1352. 1352.
    >”We’ll do it this certain way you see, so that both of our wants will be met at the same time.”
  1353. 1353.
    >The gnome laid a calloused, bony hand on Keyboard Masher’s back.
  1354. 1354.
    >And you silently yanked your leg up as hard as you could.
  1355. 1355.
    >Aisling could barely hold you back.
  1356. 1356.
    >Her jaw was clenched tight, and she stood defiantly on all fours, with her head lowered valiantly.
  1357. 1357.
    >New magic shackles appeared at your wrists.
  1358. 1358.
    >You liked that resolve flashing in her eyes better than the crying from earlier.
  1359. 1359.
    >Neither of you could speak, or even mouth the words to each other, but it was clear as day from her glare that Aisling was telling you: ‘I won’t let you give yourself up.’
  1360. 1360.
    >”We gnomes’ll give you wings and a horn liken yer friend’s there. This’ll make ya somethin’ of a special kind of mare y’see. You’ll be able to cast just the spell we both want. And casting it will be your offer in the trade. That’s it. Just casting it is all you have to do.”
  1361. 1361.
    >Keyboard Masher frowned, her eyes darting to Aisling’s strained expression and your impassive face, before she cautiously interjected,
  1362. 1362.
    >”I don’t get it, I’ll still be a pony after that won’t I? Do you think I’m so stupid I wouldn’t even check to make sure the deal includes what I want?”
  1363. 1363.
    >Clapperleg laughed, and waggled his finger at the mare.
  1364. 1364.
    >”Of course not lass. See that’s the magic of it, if you don’t mind my pun. The spell will do the trick for ye. Y’see... The spell we want ye to cast will reverse the effects of PON-E.”
  1365. 1365.
    >Your eyes went wide with utter terror as you realized the possible permutations of what he could decide he meant by that.
  1366. 1366.
    >The wording was so broad, it exceeded belief.
  1367. 1367.
    >You strained even harder against your magical bonds.
  1368. 1368.
    >Aisling was panting now, and had to shut her eyes and lie down to maintain her focus.
  1369. 1369.
    >But still she was adamant.
  1370. 1370.
    >The light at the end of her horn had become a piercing white.
  1371. 1371.
     
  1372. 1372.
    >Clapperleg eyed you ‘nervously’ (you had no doubt it was an act), then turned to look at Keyboard Masher imploringly.
  1373. 1373.
    >She was biting her lip, with her head down, her ears pinned flat and her eyes darting side to side as she tried to reason the deal in her head.
  1374. 1374.
    >You could practically see all the competing desires; to see her friends safe, to be a human again, to be anywhere but here.
  1375. 1375.
    >”I-I dunno... I... But if... What does that actually-”
  1376. 1376.
    >Clapperleg cut in at just the right moment, to sweep away the bits of logic Keyboard Masher still clung to.
  1377. 1377.
    >It literally made you gag from how sickening it was to watch.
  1378. 1378.
    >”You... you got us alright... We made PON-E! I admit it!”
  1379. 1379.
    >The wicked old spirit fell to his knees, and raised his hands to grasp at Masher’s chest, in the appearance of utter supplication.
  1380. 1380.
    >”It was a mistake, it didn’t work the way we wanted... We need you to cast this spell!”
  1381. 1381.
    >Keyboard Masher was taken aback, she raised a hoof and stepped away, but Clapperleg crawled after her, and clung to her body again.
  1382. 1382.
    >Doubt clouded her expression.
  1383. 1383.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGPCBPSXKSQ
  1384. 1384.
    >Your rage was injected with a hatred so invective it made you bite your lip and draw blood.
  1385. 1385.
    >You were going to kill that gnome, if it was the last thing you ever did as a human being.
  1386. 1386.
    >Every muscle in your body was electrified by that signal.
  1387. 1387.
    >There was not a single one of them that you weren’t putting forth to escape right this second.
  1388. 1388.
    >The bonds around your ankles and wrists crackled with white fire, and you felt one foot immediately shift like a melting glacier.
  1389. 1389.
    >Aisling’s horn was throwing up sparks, and she seemed hardly able to stay conscious.
  1390. 1390.
    >It was then that Clapperleg struck the final blow.
  1391. 1391.
    >He waved a hand to your straining figure and shouted,
  1392. 1392.
    >”You have to hurry, damned girl! He’s about to break free... And I’d sooner die than fix him! DO YOU THINK YOU’LL GET ANOTHER CHANCE LIKE THIS AGAIN?!”
  1393. 1393.
    >Keyboard Masher stared at you, frightened so utterly for the humanity you’d already given up on, before looking down at Clapperleg again.
  1394. 1394.
    >Stony faced and terrible to behold, you began raising your right leg inexorably upward.
  1395. 1395.
    >For once you believed the fear in Clapperleg’s eyes.
  1396. 1396.
    >He pleaded to your friend one last time.
  1397. 1397.
    >”PLEASE!”
  1398. 1398.
    >And finally she acquiesced.
  1399. 1399.
    >”Fine! Just do it, and let me cast it right away!”
  1400. 1400.
    >Keyboard Masher turned to you, already too late, and screamed,
  1401. 1401.
    >”Chad! STOP!”
  1402. 1402.
    >You slammed your foot into the snow, beyond the fairy ring.
  1403. 1403.
    >Time crawled, but your mind kept rushing by.
  1404. 1404.
    >Aisling was flying backward, propelled by the magical whiplash from her spell giving out.
  1405. 1405.
    >You even had the time to feel bad about inflicting that on her.
  1406. 1406.
    >Were you being sent to a different dimension?
  1407. 1407.
    >Was this what it was to ‘disappear’ after stepping out of a fairy ring?
  1408. 1408.
    >A brilliant light was beginning to seep out of Anonymous.
  1409. 1409.
    >She was floating in the air before Clapperleg, your prey.
  1410. 1410.
    >Prey?
  1411. 1411.
     
  1412. 1412.
    >You observed yourself as you flung forward, as if you were outside your own body.
  1413. 1413.
    >Your clothes were crumbling into a grey mist, and at first you thought your body was doing the same, so you promptly came to terms with your mortality.
  1414. 1414.
    >But it was actually grey fur that was spreading up your legs.
  1415. 1415.
    >You must literally have not had the time to feel the changes, they mutely progressed as your focus ever more inexorably honed in on your prey.
  1416. 1416.
    >Black talons tore through the ends of your fingers, all the better to rip his throat away.
  1417. 1417.
    >But somehow you knew it wasn’t enough, you remembered Anonymous, and words he’d said a long time ago.
  1418. 1418.
    >”They fear cold iron.”
  1419. 1419.
    >So instead you grasped the buck knife that was falling out of your vanishing jacket, and aimed for the gnome’s heart.
  1420. 1420.
    >The end of the handle had partly vanished into mist, but seemed to stabilize now that your scaly yellow digits held it.
  1421. 1421.
    >In the intervening moment of a moment, your legs bulked with tougher and leaner sinews than before.
  1422. 1422.
    >Your new musculature naturally made you adopt a digitigrade stance that gave you vastly more explosive force.
  1423. 1423.
    >Your feet mushed into themselves, and took the shape of massive paws that dug into the snow beneath them from the force of your murderous leap.
  1424. 1424.
    >A leonine tail snaked out of the base of your spine, just as grey and furred as the rest of your lower half, it whipped the snow twice before slowing into a serpentine curl behind you.
  1425. 1425.
    >Rays of brilliant splendour beamed from Anon’s body, and you could see the stark silhouette of black wings sprouting from her back.
  1426. 1426.
    >They spread wide, and grew as big as a condor’s.
  1427. 1427.
    >The feathers were intermittently black and white, like the keys of a piano.
  1428. 1428.
    >Your own wings bloomed from your back just then, fantastically white for a moment before the pinions of them became stained with rusty dots and their ends were dyed in slate.
  1429. 1429.
    >The backs of them were almost totally this rusty colour, speckled with white and grey instead of the other way around.
  1430. 1430.
    >Feathers of a similar white to rust pattern as the underside of your wings exploded from your chest in a hefty tuft, then spread swiftly up your elongating neck.
  1431. 1431.
    >You watched with a resigned horror as your face vanished into the cruel visage of a hawk.
  1432. 1432.
    >Your furious expression was wiped, to be replaced with a cold, calculating, and almost reptilian exactitude, staring impassionately through your yellow eyes, and down your hooked black beak at the little un-man that was to be your first kill.
  1433. 1433.
    >Anonymous’ horn had finally thrust forth, black and already gleaming with a black light that shot inky sable rays out everywhere.
  1434. 1434.
    >Aisling had recovered in time to witness the final moment before the spell was cast, and her eyes were wide with fear as she cowered behind the drift of snow you’d kicked up.
  1435. 1435.
    >You had one last glimpse of yourself, poised on your hind legs like a figure of heraldry, before you were sucked back into your new body.
  1436. 1436.
     
  1437. 1437.
    >You screamed piercingly, bestially, like a true hawk and plunged your blade into Clapperleg’s foul chest, where you assumed his black heart must lie.
  1438. 1438.
    >Blood struck your face in an urgent, arterial spray, and you heard him howl and spit curses from the pain.
  1439. 1439.
    >”Devil’s luck! How weren’t you killed?!”
  1440. 1440.
    >Screaming again, your slammed your left hand full of talons into his face and pulled the knife back for another blow.
  1441. 1441.
    >The holes your talons made were bloodless, confirming your suspicions and doubling your murderous impulse.
  1442. 1442.
    >Clapperleg’s eyes glared into your own from the gaps between your talons, twisted with rage, fear and pain.
  1443. 1443.
    >Registering all those emotions in your head in that split second was like making a note of the iridescent sheen of a beetle’s elytron, before plucking it off.
  1444. 1444.
    >With all the wintry cold, clean killer force in your newly transfigured body, you drove your blade at the gnome again.
  1445. 1445.
    >It was mere millimetres from the end of his nose before he vanished with the literal snap of his fingers.
  1446. 1446.
    >You immediately re-acquired him in your sights, in a tree to your left, before he vanished again, re-appearing further east.
  1447. 1447.
    >Every neuron in your brain screeched “Follow.”
  1448. 1448.
    >But, Aisling was getting jumped by three more gnomes behind you.
  1449. 1449.
    >Wheeling around, you pounced the other way.
  1450. 1450.
    >In half a wingbeat, you were among the prey.
  1451. 1451.
    >With hardly a thought, you slit the closest gnome’s throat and stabbed the second through his eye, spraying his blood all over yourself.
  1452. 1452.
    >You stopped the third mid-leap with your free talons, and took one botched stab to the leg from his bone dagger before you tossed him in the air.
  1453. 1453.
    >With both paws and a foot planted, you pivoted and threw all your weight behind your talons for one strike to the gnome’s midsection.
  1454. 1454.
    >It connected with such kinetic force he was blown apart.
  1455. 1455.
    >”Aaaghglklkk!”
  1456. 1456.
    >His parts flew to the ground, producing all the sickening sounds of tumbling flesh.
  1457. 1457.
    >With your head cocked sideways, you advanced on the halved gnome.
  1458. 1458.
    >There was no blood at all, and where his open insides should have been there was creeping vegetation instead.
  1459. 1459.
    >You watched as the two halves squirmed, in something like discomfort rather than pain.
  1460. 1460.
    >Surely, his legs tried to worm their way back to the upper half.
  1461. 1461.
    >”L-listen...”
  1462. 1462.
    >You killed him like the other two and turned your eyes on Anonymous.
  1463. 1463.
    >It was clearly too late.
  1464. 1464.
    >Her whole body was glowing with that uncanny dark light, and she writhed slowly and spasmodically in the air, as if overwhelmed by the sheer amount of magic that was flowing through her.
  1465. 1465.
    >Aisling was lying beside you, praying fervently.
  1466. 1466.
    >With one last apoplectic spasm, Anonymous spread her wings behind her, and a strobing flash of black and white erupted from the horn on her head in perfect silence.
  1467. 1467.
    >It blasted well past you and Aisling into the farthest reaches of the forest and beyond to the highest point of the mountains.
  1468. 1468.
     
  1469. 1469.
    >The last you saw of it was a final strobing pulse as it flew through the swiftly receding sea of clouds.
  1470. 1470.
    >A moment later the roaring thunderous peal of the spell followed, as if lightning had struck a foot in front of you.
  1471. 1471.
    >In the quiet that followed, all you could hear was Aisling’s ‘Amen’.
  1472. 1472.
    >Then came your heart, pumping with such a vicious animal power it scared you.
  1473. 1473.
    >You watched Anonymous.
  1474. 1474.
    >Her whole body had gone lax in sweet sleep, her head lolled in your direction and her mane bounced before her shut eyes, the platinum blonde strands gleaming from the starlight above.
  1475. 1475.
    >As she was gently laid to rest in the powdery snow, your heart slowed, and quieted.
  1476. 1476.
    >The first thing you could think to do was lift your bloody claws to your beak and stare at the ground.
  1477. 1477.
    >Everything instantly felt all too distant now compared to what had just happened to you and what you’d done.
  1478. 1478.
    >Even the spell seemed inconsequential at this point.
  1479. 1479.
    >Was this what Anonymous had felt all this time?
  1480. 1480.
    >You scowled, and clenched your talons together away from your face.
  1481. 1481.
    >No...
  1482. 1482.
    >Your face relaxed, but the turmoil boiling in your heart never went away.
  1483. 1483.
    >You twisted your claws around to look at the backs of your scaly appendages, then your eyes passed over the tuft of feathers on your chest, watching it sway in the slightest breeze.
  1484. 1484.
    >A crimson line of gnome blood criss-crossed the rusty specks on your feathers.
  1485. 1485.
    >Your gaze caught Aisling watching you closely, and you could see fear harden her expression when she noticed you looking at her.
  1486. 1486.
    >She swallowed, and sat up too straight, with her eyes locked to yours.
  1487. 1487.
    >The two of you stayed like that for a moment, and it nearly shattered your soul.
  1488. 1488.
    >Steadily, you lowered your claws, sat on your leonine rump and stared up at the stars instead.
  1489. 1489.
    >It was stupendously clear, the sight was not at all the same as it looked when you were human.
  1490. 1490.
    >Every detail had details you couldn’t dream of before.
  1491. 1491.
    >Hot tears beaded from your piercing eyes, and clouded your new vision of the heavens.
  1492. 1492.
    >And a voice not your own creaked out of your beak,
  1493. 1493.
    “Am I a monster?”
  1494. 1494.
     
  1495. 1495.
    ##Fear of Self
  1496. 1496.
     
  1497. 1497.
    >Your vision dulled just a moment, and your tears were instantly wicked away.
  1498. 1498.
    >After a second you realized you hadn’t actually closed your eyes, that had been your translucent third eyelid blinking.
  1499. 1499.
    >The inhumanity of it made you shiver.
  1500. 1500.
    >Which made your feathers ruffle and puff up, before slowly deflating back into place in a show that was even more inhuman.
  1501. 1501.
    >Nothing was the same.
  1502. 1502.
    >It struck you again, deeper now, just how much you could really see.
  1503. 1503.
    >Earlier you’d spotted Aisling being attacked nearly 180 degrees behind you.
  1504. 1504.
    >Right now you could watch the stars, see the lingering tension in Aisling’s withers and spot Anonymous’ mane blowing in the breeze, all at the same time.
  1505. 1505.
    >Your hearing too, what had been such a quiet forest one moment became practically cacophonous if you listened closely enough.
  1506. 1506.
    >Aisling’s heart was... right there, beating fast, as she cautiously stepped closer to you.
  1507. 1507.
    >Anonymous’ had slowed, but was holding steady.
  1508. 1508.
    >You could catch each delicate breath as her barrel rose and fell.
  1509. 1509.
    >Why... Why were you making a note of their heartbeats?
  1510. 1510.
    >Your perception was stupendous, but you were mortified.
  1511. 1511.
    >Those bloodied moments you’d been the author of just seconds past flashed through your mind’s eye, punctuated with Aisling’s expression when you’d cut that gnome in half.
  1512. 1512.
    >Gaping horror, abject terror.
  1513. 1513.
    >It had been so trivial to you in the moment you hadn’t even acknowledged it, seeing whether you’d actually killed that thing was more important then.
  1514. 1514.
    >Your friend’s emotions had been nothing to you.
  1515. 1515.
    >You clawed at your chest in helpless frustration, suddenly gasping for air.
  1516. 1516.
    >Aisling recoiled, and nearly tripped over half a gnome.
  1517. 1517.
    >You’d taken the time to register the fear and hatred you’d induced in your prey-
  1518. 1518.
    “Prey... W-what the fuck... gguuurraaawhhh.... what the fuck am I even thinking anymore..?”
  1519. 1519.
    >Groaning, you slid down onto your stomach, clasping your feathery head with both sets of talons.
  1520. 1520.
    >The snow was cold and dry on your fur.
  1521. 1521.
    >Your whole world was falling apart, it was like you couldn’t even trust yourself.
  1522. 1522.
    >Hyperventilating, your thoughts raced to even earlier, when you considered the state of your friends, ‘who looked awfully like prey’.
  1523. 1523.
    >The texture of the word had clearly changed, when you thought ‘prey’ then, you also thought of ‘some animal’ as the counterpart, as the predator.
  1524. 1524.
    >But just now, the moment the word ‘predator’ sounded in your head, the image of your own body, poised to kill, every muscle trained, every sense honed, was the first thing that came to mind.
  1525. 1525.
    >You shut your eyes, and you were instantly assaulted with the intrusive and hellish thought that you would look at Anonymous and think the word ‘prey’ again in this new context.
  1526. 1526.
    >Predator, you were a predator.
  1527. 1527.
    >A casual murderer.
  1528. 1528.
    >You had always indulged in hyperbole, and said you would ‘kill’ people.
  1529. 1529.
    >Now you had actually done it.
  1530. 1530.
    >So much regret.
  1531. 1531.
    >And yet...
  1532. 1532.
    >Your claws ran lines across your head.
  1533. 1533.
    >Yes, it was true.
  1534. 1534.
     
  1535. 1535.
    >The deepest regret you had was failing to kill Clapperleg.
  1536. 1536.
    >One of your last cogent thoughts as a human being had been the expression of your desire to kill him.
  1537. 1537.
    >You felt that this was one thought you could still trust, as morbid as it was.
  1538. 1538.
    >”Chad?”
  1539. 1539.
    “Don’t touch me.”
  1540. 1540.
    >You opened your eyes, and saw Aisling standing just within reach, one hoof raised as if to lay it on your head.
  1541. 1541.
    >The truth was you’d felt Aisling coming much earlier.
  1542. 1542.
    >If she was still scared, she didn’t show it now, and you couldn’t have been more grateful for anything in your life.
  1543. 1543.
    >You knew you were still scared, after all.
  1544. 1544.
    >With every second you feared your mind would slip into killer instinct.
  1545. 1545.
    >Slowly, more for your own sense of what was safe for Aisling than for fear of scaring her again, you raised your head and lowered your claws, assuming a relaxed pose like a sphinx.
  1546. 1546.
    >It wouldn’t be easy to pounce from this position at least.
  1547. 1547.
    >You couldn’t fake a smile as you scratchily uttered,
  1548. 1548.
    “Sorry.”
  1549. 1549.
    >Aisling smiled, and sat down.
  1550. 1550.
    >She tilted her head to the side, and her mane draped wonderfully past her shoulder and down her side, as she asked,
  1551. 1551.
    >”What for? You saved my life.”
  1552. 1552.
    >You tried to look away, to gather your nerves, but it was impossible with your expanded field of view.
  1553. 1553.
    >You stuttered,
  1554. 1554.
    “I...”
  1555. 1555.
    >And then a sad laugh came out of you, unbidden.
  1556. 1556.
    “I don’t know anymore... I have all these thoughts that I can’t... I’m just...”
  1557. 1557.
    >”I’m fine, and you’re just fine, Chad.”
  1558. 1558.
    >Aisling was sat right next to a broad spray of blood in the snow, from when you’d slit that gnome’s throat.
  1559. 1559.
    >Your pupils flicked to it momentarily, then to Aisling.
  1560. 1560.
    “What I did-”
  1561. 1561.
    >”Was understandable given the circumstances.”
  1562. 1562.
    >You still couldn’t look at her straight, or look away.
  1563. 1563.
    >Aisling sighed, and tossed her silvery mane.
  1564. 1564.
    >With a serious look in her eyes, she said,
  1565. 1565.
    >”You are not your thoughts Chad. I don’t know exactly what it’s like being a griffon... But, obviously-”
  1566. 1566.
    >Here she looked you all over, waving a hoof at your changed features.
  1567. 1567.
    >”-when you physically change this much, your thinking is going to change too. That isn’t you transforming into a monster, it’s just your reality changing around you. You have different choices to make now.”
  1568. 1568.
    >You clenched your talons, scraping up ice and turf.
  1569. 1569.
    “But what if I’m not choosing... What if...”
  1570. 1570.
    >Aisling shook her head.
  1571. 1571.
    >”There’s no such thing as not being able to choose. You’re always responsible for what you do.”
  1572. 1572.
    >Before you could stop her, or say anything, Aisling walked up and hugged you.
  1573. 1573.
    >You lay there blinking, too surprised for a moment to fear you would hurt her.
  1574. 1574.
    >She was small.
  1575. 1575.
    >You’d actually lost a little of your mass, you guessed.
  1576. 1576.
    >On all fours you were... two maybe three heads taller than Aisling or Anonymous.
  1577. 1577.
    >But somehow you felt like she’d gotten even smaller
  1578. 1578.
    >Just a little thing, clutching your chest, her snout buried in your feathers.
  1579. 1579.
     
  1580. 1580.
    >This was a dangerous position, it left Aisling with no time to react to what you might do, and she had no way of seeing it coming.
  1581. 1581.
    >With a million worries swirling in your head, you were priming yourself to push her off as gently as you could with your scaly hands.
  1582. 1582.
    >You quickly thought of something to say that might get her off,
  1583. 1583.
    “...I’m covered in bl-”
  1584. 1584.
    >”’Oure smfo smfoft.”
  1585. 1585.
    “What?”
  1586. 1586.
    >Aisling lifted her muzzle out of your feathery chest, carefully threaded her horn away from your face and laid her jaw askance, upon the left side of your neck instead.
  1587. 1587.
    >A crooked, comforted smile was on her lips.
  1588. 1588.
    >Her gleaming turquoise gem of an eye was peering mischievously up into yours when she repeated,
  1589. 1589.
    >”You’re so soft.”
  1590. 1590.
    >You didn’t know what to say, so you just shut your beak and stayed still, with your talons awkwardly lifted behind her back like you were going to pull her away.
  1591. 1591.
    >She was perfectly content to stay there, between your arms, against your chest.
  1592. 1592.
    >Whether this was to calm you down or for her own little joy you weren’t really sure anymore.
  1593. 1593.
    >After a minute or two, when you finally felt ‘in control’, you started reaching for some excuse to break it up.
  1594. 1594.
    >Anonymous, of course.
  1595. 1595.
    “I should check up on her. We need to get out of the cold.”
  1596. 1596.
    >Aisling stood up immediately, nodding.
  1597. 1597.
    >”Yes.”
  1598. 1598.
    >There was still that slight smile on her face.
  1599. 1599.
    >You padded over to where your friend lay sleeping, and got an actual feel for how it was to walk in your chimeric body for the first time.
  1600. 1600.
    >One step flowed into another just fine, but with how dexterous your claws were, you couldn’t help feeling like you were walking on your hands.
  1601. 1601.
    >Anonymous was exactly where you’d seen her last.
  1602. 1602.
    >Curled up in a little pile in the snow, her new ebony horn jutting out awkwardly from underneath her mane.
  1603. 1603.
    >She lay on her left wing, and her right wing was curved around and above her body, like half the shell of a cracked egg.
  1604. 1604.
    >The sight carved a tremendous loneliness in your heart.
  1605. 1605.
    >But you also felt a sincere relief.
  1606. 1606.
    >As vulnerable as she was right now, nothing dangerous crossed your mind.
  1607. 1607.
    >You ran your talons through the feathers on your head and breathed.
  1608. 1608.
    >It was high time you took some responsibility for this.
  1609. 1609.
    >You turned purposefully to Aisling and spoke authoritatively.
  1610. 1610.
    “We have to re-group, figure out what actually happened here, and then decide what we’ll do next.”
  1611. 1611.
    >Aisling nodded, and casted her warming spell on the three of you as you spoke.
  1612. 1612.
    >She looked at you meaningfully, and contributed,
  1613. 1613.
    >”That gnome you stabbed first isn’t going anywhere soon, so I think we’re pretty safe just going back to my place for now.”
  1614. 1614.
    >Her assessment was fine by you of course, since it also meant you could keep him well within talon’s reach.
  1615. 1615.
    >But it also drew your lips tight, and made you click your beak to relieve the sudden tension you felt.
  1616. 1616.
    >That was a dangerous line of thought right now.
  1617. 1617.
     
  1618. 1618.
    >You spoke some lighter words to clear your mind of anything involving violence.
  1619. 1619.
    “Yeah, let’s get this geek awake and in front of a book where she belongs.”
  1620. 1620.
    >Aisling laughed, a little breathlessly, and trotted up to see if she could help you.
  1621. 1621.
    >Your thinking was that you’d carry Anonymous in your arms, and have Aisling cling to your back as you flew.
  1622. 1622.
    >But now that it had actually come time to do it, you realized that flying was not something you could just ‘do’ on the spot.
  1623. 1623.
    >You frowned, weighing the risks in your head...
  1624. 1624.
    >It seemed safer to try flying, you didn’t want to stay here much longer, and walking back through the forest only amplified the chances of getting attacked again.
  1625. 1625.
    >Aisling started casting her magic to help lift Anonymous onto your back, but you stuck out a claw and shook your head.
  1626. 1626.
    “We’ll fly. I just have to practice first.”
  1627. 1627.
    >Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she acquiesced, and gave you some room.
  1628. 1628.
    >This was yet another risk you were running, leaving the both of them alone for a moment, but it still seemed to weigh less on your mind than making the whole trek back on hoof and paw.
  1629. 1629.
    >An unexpected thrill of excitement came welling from your heart, as you spread your wings wide.
  1630. 1630.
    >Your spirits were lightened, feeling how powerful the muscles that controlled your wings were, as you pushed them down for their first full beat.
  1631. 1631.
    >It was a whole new source of strength, something you’d barely scraped the surface of until now.
  1632. 1632.
    >You beat your wings once again, casting ice crystals all around.
  1633. 1633.
    >Aisling watched with growing awe, her silver mane and tail blowing in the air you’d stirred.
  1634. 1634.
    >For the moment you were wonderfully ignorant of how to even proceed, you didn’t have the slightest idea what you were supposed to do to really get airborne.
  1635. 1635.
    >Something like a grin tugged up the sides of your mouth, beside your beak.
  1636. 1636.
    >You threw in another wingbeat, and this time you got on your hindlegs for it.
  1637. 1637.
    >For a precious moment, your paws left the earth, before you stomped back down again.
  1638. 1638.
    >More thrust.
  1639. 1639.
    >The way you’d been flapping was inefficient, you weren’t really pushing the air how you should.
  1640. 1640.
    >At least you thought, maybe.
  1641. 1641.
    >Focusing harder on each individual motion, you flapped again, rose a moment, then dropped back.
  1642. 1642.
    >You recalled the wingbeat from earlier, when you flew into Aisling’s attackers, and tried to replicate it on the ground, just a bit slower so you got the full range of motion down correctly.
  1643. 1643.
    >There was a way of ‘scooping’ the air, and catching it under your wings to generate lift, it reminded you of freestyle swimming...
  1644. 1644.
    >With that in mind you flapped your wings this way in earnest effort, once, twice, thrice.
  1645. 1645.
    >Your paws left the ice, and you flapped faster to keep from falling back.
  1646. 1646.
    >Gradually you ascended, till you were nearly in the branches.
  1647. 1647.
    >You laughed heartily, and tumbled back to the earth for doing it.
  1648. 1648.
     
  1649. 1649.
    >With a loud thump, your side piled into a drift, sending up a spray of snow as you bounced and rolled a couple feet in a mess of paws and claws.
  1650. 1650.
    >Aisling’s giggling was just audible over your pained chuckling.
  1651. 1651.
    >Steadily, you got back on all fours and beat the snow out of your fur, using your tail like a feather duster.
  1652. 1652.
    >Then you opened your wings and started over again.
  1653. 1653.
    >The liftoff felt more natural this time, in just two wingbeats you’d attained the same height as before.
  1654. 1654.
    >Now it was just about maintaining that hover, with some concentration you timed your flaps against your weight.
  1655. 1655.
    >The motion quickly become automatic, and your wings simply moved as you needed them to.
  1656. 1656.
    >You could hardly believe it.
  1657. 1657.
    >This really was flying, this was it, you were airborne, floating solely by your own power.
  1658. 1658.
    >You dipped a wing just so, and like that you were gliding left, passing gently between the trunks.
  1659. 1659.
    >You thrust both wings thusly, and like that you were up, up, up, beyond the clinging maples.
  1660. 1660.
    >The whole forest expanded out beneath you, in every shade of twilight and white.
  1661. 1661.
    >Your concern about leaving Aisling and Anonymous alone for a moment completely disintegrated.
  1662. 1662.
    >Up here you were the king, there was nothing that escaped your view, even in this dark.
  1663. 1663.
    >You weren’t an owl or anything, but you were now utterly confident in your sight.
  1664. 1664.
    >From this height, you could count the little feathers in the crook of Anonymous’ wing, and watch Aisling’s funny gaping mouth as she trotted around with her head up, trying to get a better look at you.
  1665. 1665.
    >With ever increasing exhilaration, you rose higher still, and your tail trailed behind you like a streamer.
  1666. 1666.
    >The novelty was supreme, for the first time in years you truly felt a childlike wonder and an irresistible desire to explore.
  1667. 1667.
    >You had ridden in planes before and it just didn’t compare.
  1668. 1668.
    >With three strong flaps, you burst upward and spread your wings and arms at the zenith like you were reaching for the dome of stars above.
  1669. 1669.
    >Even from here, some hundred feet up, your telescopic vision picked out Aisling’s silver horn in an instant, and you could tell she’d given up on trying to pick you out of the sky by now.
  1670. 1670.
    >She’d lit her horn again, and the light from it was enough for you to make out your own pawprints from the mess of prints in the snow around her.
  1671. 1671.
    >You briefly scanned your eyes elsewhere in the woods, to see if you could possibly catch a trace of the gnomes, but nothing caught your gaze.
  1672. 1672.
    >It seemed more and more likely they wouldn’t risk coming out, at least for now.
  1673. 1673.
    >Aisling’s house looked safe enough too, there was nothing out of the ordinary that you could see.
  1674. 1674.
    >You breathed deep and finally felt relaxed again.
  1675. 1675.
    >There was something to be said about what Aisling had mentioned earlier, about physical changes influencing thinking.
  1676. 1676.
     
  1677. 1677.
    ##Coming to Terms
  1678. 1678.
     
  1679. 1679.
    >It was increasingly obvious that the act of flying itself was calming you down, the sensation reminded you of how cooking helped you push past your obsessive thinking patterns.
  1680. 1680.
    >Being frantic and worrying about every little thing wasn’t going to keep your friends safe anyway, especially if you were too busy being worried about going wild and hurting them yourself when there was a gang of little un-men out there that were actually intent on it.
  1681. 1681.
    >No... that wasn’t right...
  1682. 1682.
    >That was just you trying to duck out of taking responsibility for your actions.
  1683. 1683.
    >You killed those gnomes, it wasn’t your transformation that made you do it, you hadn’t lost any of your agency.
  1684. 1684.
    >So, if you ever hurt Aisling or Anonymous it would be of your own volition.
  1685. 1685.
    “Fuck...”
  1686. 1686.
    >Aisling had cut through your bullshit so cleanly, you hadn’t even felt the blow until now.
  1687. 1687.
    >With a growing sense of failure, paired with reluctant relief, you clenched your talons and echoed,
  1688. 1688.
    “You’re always responsible for what you do.”
  1689. 1689.
    >Then added,
  1690. 1690.
    “...I’m such a moron.”
  1691. 1691.
    >Using all the force you could muster, you beat your wings and rocketed straight up.
  1692. 1692.
    >Your eyes were locked on the stars, as you beat your wings faster and faster.
  1693. 1693.
    >The screaming wind was like a dulcet tone to your ears.
  1694. 1694.
    >Gradually you began to feel the chill creeping through your fur, and ice crystals nagging at the corners of your eyes as you soared ever higher.
  1695. 1695.
    >Eventually, when you felt like the clinging dregs of your failure had burnt off, you stopped.
  1696. 1696.
    >You must have been thousands of feet up at this point, you just didn’t have the frame of reference to know for sure.
  1697. 1697.
    >At the very least, you were above the wispy clouds, and you could see the moon again, tucked between two mountains.
  1698. 1698.
    >Your breath came fast up here, condensing so thickly that little flakes of ice were dropping out of it.
  1699. 1699.
    >The feathered half of your body was coated in a thin layer of frost, but your furry half was radiating enough heat that it had just melted away.
  1700. 1700.
    >The view was much lonelier than before.
  1701. 1701.
    >It wasn’t a matter of the forest stretching out as far as you could see anymore, now it had become just another polygonal patch of black and white, bordered to the south by the solid black line that was the highway, in a tapestry of patches.
  1702. 1702.
    >Aisling’s house was barely a speck, although if you focused your eyes you could see the corner of the couch through one of the windows.
  1703. 1703.
    >You looked straight down and caught Aisling pacing around Anonymous’ sleeping body.
  1704. 1704.
    >It was a top down view, so you couldn’t really make out the expression on her face, but her pacing didn’t look comfortable.
  1705. 1705.
    >The thought made you feel a bit like a voyeur, but you wondered if she was worried about you, or the gnomes coming back.
  1706. 1706.
    >...It seemed easy to form terrible habits when you could do something like this.
  1707. 1707.
     
  1708. 1708.
    >There was a dreamlike quality about it too, being able to literally fly above everything and just look at it all without being bothered was something you’d often had sojourns in the night about.
  1709. 1709.
    >You raised a claw to your beak and grew pensive.
  1710. 1710.
    >What if you spied on politicians and other people parasites this way?
  1711. 1711.
    >It seemed naive, there’s no way they would just-
  1712. 1712.
    “Bbrrbrrbrbb...”
  1713. 1713.
    >You shivered as a current of viciously cold air brought you back to reality.
  1714. 1714.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpavjceqwmQ
  1715. 1715.
    >It was time to go regroup, there was no telling what Anon’s spell really did.
  1716. 1716.
    >There might be a clock ticking that you didn’t even know about yet.
  1717. 1717.
    >So, you sucked down air, and clapped your wings tight to your body.
  1718. 1718.
    >Immediately you began to plummet, just north of Aisling’s position.
  1719. 1719.
    >The instant breakneck speed made you grin as wide as your beak would allow.
  1720. 1720.
    >You plunged through a passing cloud, blowing it to strands, before you started to extend your wings again.
  1721. 1721.
    >The wind was blowing east to west up here, so you caught it with one wing and sent yourself into a controlled spin due south of where you meant to land.
  1722. 1722.
    >Then with just the right timing, exactly the moment your body levelled out with the ground nearly a hundred feet from the treetops, you spread your wings to their full length and started a wheeling glide back around.
  1723. 1723.
    >There was a great upward pull on your back, a bit harsher than you’d expected, but it was nothing your body couldn’t handle.
  1724. 1724.
    >The drastic tone shift from plunging to gliding along made you chuckle.
  1725. 1725.
    >This was the nicest feeling of flying for you, the gliding.
  1726. 1726.
    >It was satisfying to feel your wings so full of air, like a boat at full sail.
  1727. 1727.
    >Each pinion cupped the flowing ether, keeping you suspended as if in time, while you honed in on Aisling.
  1728. 1728.
    >Finally you started to pass through the forest ceiling.
  1729. 1729.
    >Being careful not to break too many limbs, you reached out with your claws and shoved the branches aside as you went, to create a path.
  1730. 1730.
    >Aisling wasn’t built like you after all, she might get hurt or pulled off your back on the trip out.
  1731. 1731.
    >Bit by bit, that recognizable horn light grew closer and closer, until you were practically on top of it.
  1732. 1732.
    >You swooped around the last couple of limbs, since they were too big to move, and you were confident you could go around them on the way up anyway.
  1733. 1733.
    >Once you finally spotted her, Aisling looked tremendously occupied in her thoughts, sitting there and waiting for your return.
  1734. 1734.
    “I can relate.”
  1735. 1735.
    >You murmured.
  1736. 1736.
    >So as not to startle her too much, you whistled a low tone as you came in for the landing.
  1737. 1737.
     
  1738. 1738.
     
  1739. 1739.
    ////
  1740. 1740.
     
  1741. 1741.
    >The truth was, Chad had scared the hell out of you.
  1742. 1742.
    >You paced around Anonymous in the snow as you ran over the facts in your head yet again.
  1743. 1743.
    >He was like nothing you’d ever seen or thought of before.
  1744. 1744.
    >You shivered, and not from the cold, but from remembering that look on his face as he’d cut through those gnomes.
  1745. 1745.
    >Like a mannequin, pulling apart mannequins.
  1746. 1746.
    >The thought made you shiver again, and it also made you terribly aware that you could be covered in blood like him.
  1747. 1747.
    >Quickly, you spun on yourself to check.
  1748. 1748.
    >...
  1749. 1749.
    >Thank goodness your black fur didn’t show anything, and thank God you didn’t get any of it in your mane or your tail or your scarf.
  1750. 1750.
    >You sighed and sat down to collect yourself properly.
  1751. 1751.
    >If Chad were to do something like that again, there was no telling if he’d come out of it still valuing other people’s lives.
  1752. 1752.
    >Your own transformation had thrown you off badly enough, with the bouts of euphoria and silly behaviour.
  1753. 1753.
     
  1754. 1754.
    >With a touch of quiet despair, you thought about how you’d actually managed to hug Chad so quickly after everything you’d seen him do.
  1755. 1755.
    >That was an act strictly reserved for children’s cartoons, yet it was still what you felt was right at the time.
  1756. 1756.
    >You eyed the sleeping white mare beside you.
  1757. 1757.
    >Anonymous’ behaviour worried you too.
  1758. 1758.
    >It was nice that she was suddenly so...
  1759. 1759.
    >Bouncy, for lack of a better word, but it was also terrible in its portent.
  1760. 1760.
    >Becoming the opposite sex had obviously dulled Anonymous’ edge.
  1761. 1761.
    >Her indecision earlier was simply uncharacteristic.
  1762. 1762.
    >...Not that you were any better.
  1763. 1763.
    >You had your guard up the whole time and you still took that terrible deal to serve as Chad’s shackles.
  1764. 1764.
    >It made you want to... Well.
  1765. 1765.
    >You could only pray that your comforting, and that your words had their desired effect; to bring Chad back to some level of normalcy and to patch up his sense of self.
  1766. 1766.
    >If Chad knew he was responsible for what he did, then hopefully he would also feel responsible for what he did.
  1767. 1767.
    >A low whistle cut through your thoughts.
  1768. 1768.
    >You gazed upward and saw Chad come swooping down between the branches, before he skidded to a halt a few feet away, kicking up bloody snow.
  1769. 1769.
    >It was frustratingly ambiguous whether he’d really calmed down.
  1770. 1770.
    >That black beak hardly betrayed a thing, and combined with Chad’s prior habit of making light of serious trouble to cope, the problem was compounded.
  1771. 1771.
    >His face and his expressions could be downright deceptive, even if he didn’t want them to be.
  1772. 1772.
    >The griffon was three heads taller than you and nearly twice as long, practically the same size as when he was human, but densely packed.
  1773. 1773.
    >Chad’s paws crunched through the snow, and his talons stabbed it dead as he walked up to you.
  1774. 1774.
    >Your horn light glinted off his beak, and illuminated the evil black stain across his face as he locked eyes with you.
  1775. 1775.
    >That was a smile? Right?
  1776. 1776.
    >It barely differed from the permanent smug smirk he had imprinted on his features now.
  1777. 1777.
    >You smiled back anyway, and it wasn’t a total lie.
  1778. 1778.
     
  1779. 1779.
    >Chad may have an exhaustive list of every Freemason in office, but you had a comparably exhaustive one of the times Anonymous told you she owed him.
  1780. 1780.
    >Gently, Chad punched you in the shoulder.
  1781. 1781.
    >”I think I’ve got the hang of it, just give me a sec here, wanna get this before we go...”
  1782. 1782.
    >He said, with that queer new intonation of his, as he reached for his chest.
  1783. 1783.
    >His talons closed over nothing.
  1784. 1784.
    >Expression unchanging, he reached around his shoulder, and once again shut his claws on air.
  1785. 1785.
    >You couldn’t help but laugh when you realized what was going on, you were so relieved.
  1786. 1786.
    >Chad squawked in shock, then his head and tail drooped as low as they could go.
  1787. 1787.
    >”Ffffucckkkk... That fairy ring ate my cigs...”
  1788. 1788.
    >Stifling your giggles, you started to pat his rusty speckled dome with a hoof.
  1789. 1789.
    >His feathers were smooth to the touch, and a little wet.
  1790. 1790.
    “What about your phone and your wallet? Isn’t that worse?”
  1791. 1791.
    >Chad seemed to accept the petting, and simply grumbled back.
  1792. 1792.
    >”Burner phone, fake IDs and no cash on me. I’ll just grab some replacements from my bug-out bag in the car.”
  1793. 1793.
    >You pressed your hoof to your forehead, and struggled in vain to understand Chad’s ever nebulous priorities.
  1794. 1794.
    >But you smiled anyway.
  1795. 1795.
    >He really seemed himself right now.
  1796. 1796.
    >The bird brain lifted his head up suddenly, and slapped the snow with the end of his tail before stepping up to Anonymous to say,
  1797. 1797.
    >”Let’s get going.”
  1798. 1798.
    >With obvious care and consideration, Chad threaded his claws beneath Anon’s side and scooped her slowly up into the crooks of his elbows.
  1799. 1799.
    >You weren’t really sure how he wanted to go about this until he spread his wings and lowered his front half a little more.
  1800. 1800.
    >Nodding, you sidled up next to Chad, and slid over his back, between his wings.
  1801. 1801.
    >A flutter passed through your chest as you wrapped your forelegs around his neck.
  1802. 1802.
    >You felt like a mouse climbing onto a cat.
  1803. 1803.
    >All you’d touched in that hug earlier was Chad’s soft down, but now you were laying right on top of his strongest muscles.
  1804. 1804.
    >You spoke a warning against Chad’s neck, towards where you figured his ear was.
  1805. 1805.
    “I don’t have much of a grip on you. I’d try casting some spell but I can’t really imagine a good way of holding one thing to another yet.”
  1806. 1806.
    >He nodded back, one cool eye locked to yours, and responded,
  1807. 1807.
    >”Yeah, I’ll go slow.”
  1808. 1808.
    >Then Chad lifted his wings as high as they would go.
  1809. 1809.
    >Finally the first beat came, and the rushing air that sent your silvery mane and your scarf twirling behind your head.
  1810. 1810.
    >In three such flaps, you were all in the air.
  1811. 1811.
    >You braced yourself as Chad approached the tree cover, but not a single branch touched you.
  1812. 1812.
    >Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted several that were obviously bent back, before Chad soared past them all.
  1813. 1813.
    >For a little while, he was mostly gathering height, rising well above the forest.
  1814. 1814.
    >The wind was blowing your ears flat against your head, and producing this annoying scream.
  1815. 1815.
    >There was a brutal chill up here that cut right through your warming spell.
  1816. 1816.
     
  1817. 1817.
    ##Escaping
  1818. 1818.
     
  1819. 1819.
    >Chad’s wings kept squishing your barrel every time they came up for a rhythmic flap, and at any moment you felt like they would unhook your hind legs from his sides and send you tumbling to your death.
  1820. 1820.
    “This sucks!!”
  1821. 1821.
    >You hollered over the wind.
  1822. 1822.
    >Chad’s head rocked back and forth in a squawking laugh, and the motion almost uncrossed your forelegs from his thick neck.
  1823. 1823.
    >”Almost there!”
  1824. 1824.
    >He shot back.
  1825. 1825.
    >With your eyes squinted to guard against the wind, you peered around all the white feathers to look at the ground below.
  1826. 1826.
    >You couldn’t make heads or tails of most of it, everything was just a black and grey smudge.
  1827. 1827.
    >But you did manage to spot the light from your house at least.
  1828. 1828.
    >Chad was flying west of it, which struck you as odd at first, but then you realized he must be subject to the wind.
  1829. 1829.
    >You didn’t know if it was really amazing that he understood air currents so quickly, or if it was more intuitive than you would expect.
  1830. 1830.
    >Just as you tucked your head back in, Chad finally stopped ascending and levelled out.
  1831. 1831.
    >The ride instantly became tolerable as a result, with him only flapping maybe a quarter of the time compared to earlier.
  1832. 1832.
    >You sighed in relief, and let your body relax a little.
  1833. 1833.
    >Wispy clouds floated by just over your head, and the starry sky rose and fell as a dome, out to the horizon.
  1834. 1834.
    >The wind quieted down to a soft whistle that toyed with your fur and mane, instead of cutting through it like cold darts.
  1835. 1835.
    >Now that you could appreciate the flight, it made you regret that it had come so late, while the moon wasn’t up and you could barely see anything.
  1836. 1836.
    >Besides the stars, it was just black above and black below, with some indistinct shapes marked out by the snow.
  1837. 1837.
    >Your home was still ahead and to the right, a little patch of warm yellow light in a black and white photograph.
  1838. 1838.
    >How did it look to Chad?
  1839. 1839.
    >You pondered.
  1840. 1840.
    >I mean he wasn’t an owl right, how good was his night vision really?
  1841. 1841.
    >You tapped Chad on the chest with the flat face of your hoof, and asked,
  1842. 1842.
    “Can you see my place from here?”
  1843. 1843.
    >Chad turned his head to look at you sidelong, and this time you recognized the smile on his beak for certain.
  1844. 1844.
    >It was several times more smug than his baseline.
  1845. 1845.
    >”So, the Nightmare doubts I can find her lair?”
  1846. 1846.
    >Clearly, he was amused.
  1847. 1847.
    >With a testy expression, you whipped your tail against his haunches a couple times to express your reciprocal ‘amusement’.
  1848. 1848.
    >Chad looked away from you, and down at your home instead.
  1849. 1849.
    >As simply as plucking a tea-bag from a cup, he immediately quoted a passage with a princely affect in his voice,
  1850. 1850.
    >”This is the syege of the noble Knyght Sir Trystramys.”
  1851. 1851.
    >Then he shot you another smug, almost haughty look.
  1852. 1852.
    >You were bewildered for a moment, but in the next, you remembered the book you’d left on your coffee table.
  1853. 1853.
    >There was no way Chad would have memorized that, and Anonymous...
  1854. 1854.
    >Was still asleep, her mane just blowing haphazardly in the wind past his arm.
  1855. 1855.
     
  1856. 1856.
    >Your eyes went wide, and you couldn’t help but go,
  1857. 1857.
    “Huh.”
  1858. 1858.
    >As you pressed a hoof to your chin.
  1859. 1859.
    >From up here, from God only knows how far away, he really had picked out a passage in your book.
  1860. 1860.
    >Could real hawks even see that far?
  1861. 1861.
    >The more you thought about it, Clapperleg might have had a point calling it ‘devil’s luck’.
  1862. 1862.
    >Your lips stretched thin, and your brow furrowed up.
  1863. 1863.
    >It was impressive, obviously, but Chad’s expression made you want to throw it back in his face.
  1864. 1864.
    >So, like a child you jokingly retorted,
  1865. 1865.
    “I have magic.”
  1866. 1866.
    >And turned your head to emphasize the handsome length of your fine platinum horn.
  1867. 1867.
    >Chad’s smirk only lengthened.
  1868. 1868.
    >He lifted his arms, and Anon rolled in them, her limp wings all a scatter between his elbows.
  1869. 1869.
    >She was snoring loud enough that you could hear it from here.
  1870. 1870.
    >With his right hand up for you to see, Chad flexed his right most claw around in a circle, then he suddenly reached for your face.
  1871. 1871.
    “Hey!-”
  1872. 1872.
    >Before you could pull away, he squeezed the end of your nose between his claws and laughed,
  1873. 1873.
    >”I have thumbs.”
  1874. 1874.
    >Fuming, but smiling, snorting and laughing too, you shook your head furiously to get Chad off.
  1875. 1875.
    >He relented, and slowly lowered the snoozing Anonymous again.
  1876. 1876.
    >You giggled along as he squawked to his heart’s content.
  1877. 1877.
    >Eventually he stopped, and your snout un-scrunched itself.
  1878. 1878.
    >After a span of silence, you thought of just the thing to get the last word in.
  1879. 1879.
    “...I can summon thumbs.”
  1880. 1880.
    >Chad chuckled, and shook his head as he responded,
  1881. 1881.
    >”I’ll still have these eyes after you lose the horn.”
  1882. 1882.
    >He was looking at you from the side of his face again.
  1883. 1883.
    >The expression on his beak still conveyed a jocular attitude, but Chad’s eye was striking.
  1884. 1884.
    >It was like he was staring into the years beyond you, the look was too serious for his usual levity to cover for.
  1885. 1885.
    >Your breath caught in your throat.
  1886. 1886.
    >He wasn’t including the possibility of returning to normal in his future, not at all.
  1887. 1887.
    >With a deep breath, and a moment’s thought, you levelled yourself out.
  1888. 1888.
    >The best thing to do was speak realistically, reel him in, and at least bring him back to the current issue.
  1889. 1889.
    >With your shoulders slumped, but your voice resolute, you responded,
  1890. 1890.
    “We don’t know that yet, that spell might mean I’ll be stuck like this too.”
  1891. 1891.
    >”No.”
  1892. 1892.
    >Chad answered immediately.
  1893. 1893.
    >He wasn’t looking at you, all you saw was the back of his head as he continued in a stolid tone,
  1894. 1894.
    >”I’m going to kill that gnome.”
  1895. 1895.
    >The thought crossed your mind that as much as Anon had been mollified by her transformation, Chad had been hardened.
  1896. 1896.
    >For a man, such a hardening could be ideal, but Chad had already been a hard man before this.
  1897. 1897.
    >Now he was only looking after you and Anonymous, not himself.
  1898. 1898.
    >Being so unbending could break him.
  1899. 1899.
    >You bit your lip, and wrapped your forelegs around his neck again, momentarily frustrated that you couldn’t think of anything more to say, while Chad wordlessly began his gradual descent.
  1900. 1900.
     
  1901. 1901.
    >He kept a steady pitch, dipping his right wing a few degrees to come gliding around in an arc back to your home.
  1902. 1902.
    >Chad’s speed picked up some more as he came out of the turn and aimed his beak straight at your front yard.
  1903. 1903.
    >At first slowly, and then quite quickly, the earth below came into greater and greater detail.
  1904. 1904.
    >Your nearest neighbour’s place slung by, a shadowy ensemble of familiar features.
  1905. 1905.
    >The stand of pine in your neighbour’s field raced away just below Chad’s paws, then the long driveway, then you flew past the property line, over your driveway-
  1906. 1906.
    >At maybe 30 meters from your front door, you realized Chad hadn’t slowed down at all.
  1907. 1907.
    >”Hold tight.”
  1908. 1908.
    >With a great gasp, you pressed your forelegs as deeply into Chad’s fluffy chest as you could, and hooked them together.
  1909. 1909.
    >Your hind legs were squeezing his midsection as much as possible, and your face was buried in the base of his neck.
  1910. 1910.
    >For one nerve wrenching moment, as the wind screamed in your ears, you laid there so utterly tensed up and blind, waiting for the impact.
  1911. 1911.
    >Then it came, and all the air you’d sucked down was blown out of your chest.
  1912. 1912.
    >You heard Chad beat his mighty wings once before touching the ground, and the inertia smooshed you so much flatter into his back than you would have believed was possible.
  1913. 1913.
    >Your eyes flew open and darted around to take everything in.
  1914. 1914.
    >He’d gone into a horrifically fast controlled slide on his paws through the snow, still holding Anonymous up and away.
  1915. 1915.
    >Ice was blasted everywhere.
  1916. 1916.
    >Chad’s two legged upright stance forced you to cling as best you could, while his wings buffeted you with more decelerating flaps, and his tail whipped around worryingly close to your back.
  1917. 1917.
    >It was the second scariest damned thing that had happened to you today.
  1918. 1918.
    >At any moment you thought you’d lose your grip and be sent flying into a wall, or lose your grip and be trampled beneath Chad’s paws, or get lashed with his tail and then have either of the former conclusions play out.
  1919. 1919.
    >But mercifully, oh so mercifully, he managed to slow down.
  1920. 1920.
    >With one last careful flap of his wings, Chad stopped just so, with his arms and Anonymous resting at the foot of your deck.
  1921. 1921.
    >He smiled wistfully at her as he laid her out on the step and stood apart, on all fours, calm as could be.
  1922. 1922.
    >Anonymous just snored on, a blonde white tumbleweed with piano wings sticking out of it.
  1923. 1923.
    >Meanwhile, you were desperately clinging to Chad’s neck with every last ounce of your failing strength, shivering and rocking with adrenaline.
  1924. 1924.
    >It was hard to think straight with how fast your heart was beating, but you managed just to blow your mane out of your eyes and breathlessly ask,
  1925. 1925.
    “H-h-h-how ffff-fff-ffassst dafiids didfjd did did did you r-r-really??”
  1926. 1926.
    >Chad eyed you apologetically as he reached over his shoulder to pluck you off.
  1927. 1927.
    >His scaly hand palmed you right at your withers, with his talons looping beneath your elbows.
  1928. 1928.
    >They nearly met each other below your chest as he tugged.
  1929. 1929.
     
  1930. 1930.
    >But your legs had unconsciously locked in place, so that even if you wanted off, you couldn’t acquiesce.
  1931. 1931.
    >The shivering just wouldn’t stop either.
  1932. 1932.
    >”Ah, shit. That was too fast.”
  1933. 1933.
    >Chad noted, as he carefully peeled your limbs from his body.
  1934. 1934.
    >With each leg that was unstuck, you felt just that much calmer.
  1935. 1935.
    >Once your heart was back to a healthy pace and you were fully un-clung, he picked you up how he’d meant to in the first place.
  1936. 1936.
    >You had the sense to frown at least, before you were carried up and over Chad’s head like a toy in a crane game.
  1937. 1937.
    >Your frown only grew deeper, and your hind legs dangled ponderously when Chad finally held you up to his face.
  1938. 1938.
    >He helped himself to a chuckle first, but then he apologized,
  1939. 1939.
    >”Sorry, I should have just hovered down, but I got too excited about the gliding.”
  1940. 1940.
    >You glared at that boyish smiling beak, those yellow eyes, and the blood stain across them with stern disapproval.
  1941. 1941.
    >There was still a lingering thrill in Chad’s whole demeanour.
  1942. 1942.
    >He was just a bit breathless, just a bit brutish.
  1943. 1943.
    >It was the kind of look a boy coated in mud would give his mother after he finally caught her in a bear hug.
  1944. 1944.
    >You sighed, and ultimately, you relented,
  1945. 1945.
    “I accept your apology.”
  1946. 1946.
    >”Sorry.”
  1947. 1947.
    >Chad repeated, a little more sincerely, as he set you down.
  1948. 1948.
    “It’s fine.”
  1949. 1949.
    >It wasn’t like you weren’t at least a little thrilled yourself.
  1950. 1950.
    >You happily tossed your mane, and fixed your scarf.
  1951. 1951.
    >Then you poked Chad’s bloody chest with a hoof, and pointed at his equally marred face as you advised,
  1952. 1952.
    “Just go and clean yourself up, I’ll carry Anon in. These stains would scare the wings off her if she woke up and saw them now.”
  1953. 1953.
    >For his part, Chad bemusedly patted at the affected areas, obviously not seeing the same thing you were.
  1954. 1954.
    >”These?”
  1955. 1955.
    >You nodded, and answered,
  1956. 1956.
    “You look like you’re the one who was stabbed. The shower is free, and straight ahead when you go through the front door.”
  1957. 1957.
    >Chad made his way inside while you spun up a spell to pick Anonymous up.
  1958. 1958.
    >You thought of that ‘crane game’ feeling from before, and imagined a similar shape.
  1959. 1959.
    >The horn atop your head glowed with a turquoise hue, summoning up a hardlight facsimile of the claw from those games.
  1960. 1960.
    >With your mind trained, you lowered the claw and carefully picked up Anon with it, in much the same way Chad had done with you.
  1961. 1961.
    >Chad had left the door open for you, so you just passed the sleeping pony through first, and trotted after her.
  1962. 1962.
    >In the doorway, you turned your head, moving Anonymous to your left through the air, and set her lightly down on the couch.
  1963. 1963.
    >She already looked like she’d been sleeping there all night.
  1964. 1964.
    >While you took in the state of your home, you shut the door with a hind leg, and magically unravelled the scarf from your neck.
  1965. 1965.
    >The bathroom door across from you was shut, and you could already hear the sound of Chad turning the water on.
  1966. 1966.
     
  1967. 1967.
    ##Back Home
  1968. 1968.
     
  1969. 1969.
    >Le Morte d’Arthur was conspicuously open on your coffee table, and you scoffed, seeing that it really was on the page Chad had read from.
  1970. 1970.
    “Must have been Anon reading it, I hope she saved my bookmark...”
  1971. 1971.
    >You murmured, as you scanned the living room.
  1972. 1972.
    >Everything else was how you’d left it...
  1973. 1973.
    >...Minus the wool throw that had been gobbled out of existence by the fairy ring earlier.
  1974. 1974.
    >That stung, it had been a gift from your mother.
  1975. 1975.
    >You sighed, and walked over to your smouldering fireplace.
  1976. 1976.
    >The funk from losing your throw vanished almost instantly with those first few steps.
  1977. 1977.
    >After wandering around in the snow all night getting harangued by deceptive little not-men, and being worried half to death your friends were going to be hurt; trotting on warm wood flooring in your own home, with the sweet sound of Anonymous gently breathing in her sleep on your couch filled your heart with gratitude for the Lord.
  1978. 1978.
    >With a merry smile on your face, you conjured up a shimmering sea-foam blue hand to open the stove, pick a stick of kindling out of the pile, and stir the embers before piling more kindling inside.
  1979. 1979.
    >The fire was already crackling as you laid on a hunk of wood, shut the door and opened the draft.
  1980. 1980.
    >Next, you walked back over to Anonymous, nabbed up your fleece blanket with your teeth, and covered her with it.
  1981. 1981.
    >Her mouth gaped for a second, and you thought you had woken her up, but instead she gave a great yawn and a shiver.
  1982. 1982.
    >Anonymous’ wings stretched out, tenting the blanket above her, before gradually pulling in more comfortably to her sides.
  1983. 1983.
    >Suppressing your laughter, you tucked the blanket around her and turned around for the kitchen.
  1984. 1984.
    >Automatically, your sound system started as you went through the motions to brew tea, randomly picking something you recognized from your morning playlist.
  1985. 1985.
    https://youtu.be/kjxNxHlRv3k?t=684
  1986. 1986.
    >At your command,
  1987. 1987.
    “Quiet.”
  1988. 1988.
    >The volume dimmed.
  1989. 1989.
    >You hopped up on the wooden step stool, so you could reach your head over the counter and see what you were doing.
  1990. 1990.
    >The clock on the wall read 1:01 am.
  1991. 1991.
    >Just thinking about it made you sleepy, but it would have to wait.
  1992. 1992.
    >You flicked the kettle on with the end of your nose, and the lights off with a touch of magic.
  1993. 1993.
    >While the water boiled and a glowing hand you’d just summoned grabbed two bags of peppermint tea from the cupboard, you thought back some.
  1994. 1994.
    >You’d taken that PONE-E at 8:37 pm last night, almost exactly.
  1995. 1995.
    >Which meant you should be returning to normal at 8:37 pm tonight.
  1996. 1996.
    >Should, but Anonymous’ spell to ‘reverse the effects of PON-E’ could mean a number of different things, when you thought about it semantically.
  1997. 1997.
    >First, the most likely outcome, your transformation was now permanent.
  1998. 1998.
    >Second, still possible if unlikely, after 24 hours your transformation would be made permanent, unless you took a second pill.
  1999. 1999.
     
  2000. 2000.
    >Third and least likely, if you assumed the effect of ‘taking 1 pill will transform the user for 24 hours’ was not one of the effects reversed, you would turn back to normal.
  2001. 2001.
    >Your kettle belched steam as you delved further and further into the possibilities.
  2002. 2002.
    >The gnome had promised Anonymous she would be human again, so the one effect you knew was reversed was ‘overdosing will transform the user permanently’.
  2003. 2003.
    >And seeing as Anon was still a pony, you had to assume the way the reversal had gone was, ‘overdosing will make the transformation permanent’, to ‘overdosing will make the transformation temporary’.
  2004. 2004.
    >So she should be turning back sometime tomorrow.
  2005. 2005.
    >In which case, how would the gnomes benefit best?
  2006. 2006.
    >You let your magical hand pour the boiling water into the mugs you’d prepared, while you pieced together the worst scenario you could think of, keeping in mind the rule of overdosing being reversed.
  2007. 2007.
    >Anyone who took one pill was permanently transformed, people who overdosed were turned back.
  2008. 2008.
    >You frowned at your quietly steeping cups of tea.
  2009. 2009.
    “That... really isn’t all that big...”
  2010. 2010.
    >Why had the gnomes gone through all that trouble just to make it so that people would effectively overdose on PON-E immediately?
  2011. 2011.
    >All the weirdos who wanted to be ponies forever had probably gone through with it already so this wasn’t going to cover for many of them.
  2012. 2012.
    >You supposed it meant that now normal people would have to acquire more PON-E to turn themselves back at least-
  2013. 2013.
    >You shook your head, and changed your line of thinking.
  2014. 2014.
    >None of this added up in the first place.
  2015. 2015.
    >This scenario was bad for the gnomes, it would make it practically impossible for people to be permanently ponified.
  2016. 2016.
    >Your tail batted from side to side as you dipped your teabag in and out of your mug, deep in thought.
  2017. 2017.
    >The whole point was to make industrial society capsize right?
  2018. 2018.
    >So there was no good reason to give humans a way back to humanity.
  2019. 2019.
    >Your frown grew deeper.
  2020. 2020.
    >...Was Clapperleg actually being honest when he said they’d made a mistake?
  2021. 2021.
    >You shook your head, and clopped a hoof to the counter.
  2022. 2022.
    >This was the second time you’d entertained the idea of having some kind of sympathy for the creature.
  2023. 2023.
    >That thing wasn’t even human, not one statement it had made was true.
  2024. 2024.
    >Even the things that were factually verifiable, would prove to be so only for the purpose of concealing an even uglier lie.
  2025. 2025.
    >Hatred, meaningful, true hatred wrinkled your snout as you snarled under your breath,
  2026. 2026.
    “It was just a thing that talked.”
  2027. 2027.
    >For a few moments you stewed like that, staring at your tea, still harbouring regrets for the part you’d played in that sick show.
  2028. 2028.
    >But as with most regrets, you disposed of them judiciously, and focused instead on solutions.
  2029. 2029.
    >The impression you got was that you were forgetting something, the scenario you had in mind right now definitely wasn’t right.
  2030. 2030.
    >Convening with Chad about it was probably best, he may remember everything that was said back then better than you.
  2031. 2031.
     
  2032. 2032.
    >So you becalmed yourself for now and stepped off the stool, while floating both mugs along behind you with magic saucers.
  2033. 2033.
    >They glowed softly, their turquoise pleasantly contrasting the orange flickering light from the hearth.
  2034. 2034.
    >With a little hop, you rolled yourself out on the sofa.
  2035. 2035.
    >Then you wiggled your backside under the fleece blanket you’d covered up Anonymous with, till it slid over your neck.
  2036. 2036.
    >It was dangerously warm.
  2037. 2037.
    >If you weren’t careful, this is exactly where you would be spending the rest of the morning and tomorrow afternoon.
  2038. 2038.
    >Your eyes narrowed at the risk you were taking, but your body was already being treacherous as it shuffled closer to your sleeping friend and gently laid your hind legs against hers.
  2039. 2039.
    >And then for the killing blow, you conjured a hand to bring your cup up to your lips for the first sip.
  2040. 2040.
    >If there was ever a reason you may understand, for why someone wanted to be like this permanently, it would be the capability of drinking tea under a blanket without poking your hands out.
  2041. 2041.
    >Appreciating the soothing flavour, and sighing with perfect contentedness, you laid your head flat on the sofa to glance at the waiting mug you’d prepared for the bird brain.
  2042. 2042.
    “How long does it take to get blood out of feathers anyway?”
  2043. 2043.
    >”Ten minutes. Had to make do with cold water and vinegar.”
  2044. 2044.
    >Chad’s voice stabbed through the air.
  2045. 2045.
    >Your ears flicked to the bathroom door, and your head was up off the couch before you could think about it.
  2046. 2046.
    >Chad stood there, still towelling off his neck and looking at you curiously.
  2047. 2047.
    >He cut a sharp figure in the warm light of the fireplace.
  2048. 2048.
    >It was so sharp you couldn’t help but think of how much he looked like a fox in a hen house.
  2049. 2049.
    >He was so undeniably shaped like a predator that even when he affected a casual posture there was no veiling the threat of his body.
  2050. 2050.
    >There wasn’t a trace of blood left in his feathers, so that his chest was a great white plume struck through with lines of rust, and his face an august white head of feathers gilded on either side with more rust.
  2051. 2051.
    >The fire glinted in little orange embers off his beak and talons and danced in his eyes, while his dusky lion half loomed in the darkness behind him.
  2052. 2052.
    >A lounging lion is still a lion.
  2053. 2053.
    >You laughed inside at the comparison and tapped your hoof against the empty spot next to you.
  2054. 2054.
    >For all that, Chad was also; still Chad.
  2055. 2055.
    >So you tilted your head towards his cup and warmly invited him.
  2056. 2056.
    “Come sit down, it’s peppermint.”
  2057. 2057.
    >Chad nodded his head and replied,
  2058. 2058.
    >”Cool.”
  2059. 2059.
    >Before he tossed his towel onto a hook in the bathroom and made his way over.
  2060. 2060.
    >Then, standing right in front of you, Chad stretched his wings wide and yawned for a perilously long time.
  2061. 2061.
    >The tips of the lead feathers on his left wing brushed against the wall and flicked at your scarf hanging there.
  2062. 2062.
    >With a great shiver along his whole body, Chad pulled his wings back in to fold comfortably at his sides again.
  2063. 2063.
     
  2064. 2064.
    >It had looked so much like a blown up version of what Anonymous had done earlier, that you rolled over giggling, and nearly tore your cushions up with the end of your horn.
  2065. 2065.
    “Chad, the biirrddd brainnn.”
  2066. 2066.
    >You teased, grinning up at his face.
  2067. 2067.
    >Chad ruffled his wings a little, looking unphased, before he swiftly squeezed your nose between his claws.
  2068. 2068.
    >You snuffled and struggled on your back, trying in vain to reach him with your fore hooves, while he smiled down at you and taunted back,
  2069. 2069.
    >”Aisling, the long face.”
  2070. 2070.
    >Your reply started out all stuffed and funny sounding,
  2071. 2071.
    “Noo woondur Anoun bweats yu swo muache. Blah-”
  2072. 2072.
    >Then finally he let you go, and you continued to berate him in plainer English as he climbed onto the cushions,
  2073. 2073.
    “You really aim for the soft spots of being a pony, you’re just an old fashioned bully.”
  2074. 2074.
    >You chided, but your smile betrayed your amusement.
  2075. 2075.
    >Chad laughed as he wrapped his tail around his body and laid on his side, with his scaly forearms on the arm rest.
  2076. 2076.
    >He plucked his cup of tea off the coffee table and retorted,
  2077. 2077.
    >”It is my biological imperative to remind pill poppers of their lot in life.”
  2078. 2078.
    >The joke burst your gut laughing, and just when you’d recovered, seeing Chad’s puzzled expression at his tea sent you reeling again.
  2079. 2079.
    >The remark about ‘pill poppers’ had swung round to bite him so fast it made your head spin.
  2080. 2080.
    >He’d tilted his whole head, so much like a bird pecking at some speck on the ground, it was perfect.
  2081. 2081.
    >”How do...”
  2082. 2082.
    >Chad uttered, then he went through every motion he could think of to try and get the tea down his throat without making a mess of it.
  2083. 2083.
    >Leaning his head to and fro, he tried sticking his tongue out, opening his beak wide, keeping his beak nearly shut and clasping the edge of the cup with his beak.
  2084. 2084.
    >All the while you laughed more and more, so much so that the couch shook and he nearly spilled his tea anyway.
  2085. 2085.
    >Chad locked an eye on you, and it gave you the sense to be quiet for just a second.
  2086. 2086.
    >You breathed deep and sealed your lips shut with a knowing smile.
  2087. 2087.
    >It would be funnier when he dumped it all over himself by his own power anyway.
  2088. 2088.
    >Like he knew what you were thinking, Chad gave you one last glare before he finally dipped the end of his beak in the cup and tried sucking his tea up.
  2089. 2089.
    >”Fuck! Hot-”
  2090. 2090.
    >He withdrew too quickly, tipping the cup back to dribble all down his downy chest, while you laughed and tapped your fore hooves against his flank in double time.
  2091. 2091.
    >Groaning, the bird brain set the cup back and stood up to go cleanse his feathers with more water.
  2092. 2092.
    >Your giggling followed him all the way to the bathroom and back, before it finally petered out as he jumped up on the couch beside you again.
  2093. 2093.
    >Not to be beaten, Chad reached for the cup again, and drunk from it with some poise this time around.
  2094. 2094.
    >Then he looked straight at you, clicked his beak and remarked,
  2095. 2095.
    >”Lips must be nice huh?”
  2096. 2096.
    >You nodded, smiling lightly as you took a sip of your own cup.
  2097. 2097.
     
  2098. 2098.
    ##Falling Asleep
  2099. 2099.
     
  2100. 2100.
    >It was funny, you thought, that all this teasing about who’s body could do what always came back around to who’s body was more similar to a human one.
  2101. 2101.
    >You watched how Chad moved, and realized there wasn’t so much of a difference from when he was human at all.
  2102. 2102.
    >He used his claws just like he would have used his hands, and brought his paws up just like he would have done with his feet.
  2103. 2103.
    >He even curled the ends of his toes.
  2104. 2104.
    >Anonymous, who had been this the longest, still had some of the most human affectations of the three of you.
  2105. 2105.
    >You’d adopted a more equine stance, but the way she usually held her posture was practically like a human just crawling on their hands and knees sometimes.
  2106. 2106.
    >The drastic bodily changes didn’t seem to kill muscle memories, they just introduced new ones.
  2107. 2107.
    >What was more worrisome to you were the subtle shifts in moods and humours.
  2108. 2108.
    >But your gut told you that the three of you sitting here right now were perfectly human still.
  2109. 2109.
    >There was no change in...
  2110. 2110.
    >You stared up at the ceiling, reaching for a good word, and noted that you could actually look up at your horn the way you’d cross your eyes to look at your nose.
  2111. 2111.
    >Now that you thought about it, how come you didn’t notice your snout all the time even though it was so lo-
  2112. 2112.
    “Character...”
  2113. 2113.
    >You muttered suddenly, causing Chad to double take.
  2114. 2114.
    >Right, ‘character’, you mused, as you brought your gaze back to the fireplace.
  2115. 2115.
    >You hovered over your cup of tea and took another sip to punctuate the thought.
  2116. 2116.
    >After you were transformed, you kept on doing exactly what you would have done anyway and from the way Anonymous was acting, she’d been the same.
  2117. 2117.
    >The both of you had always pressed through everything so industriously.
  2118. 2118.
    >In hindsight, although your history with him was shorter, you could tell Chad was behaving just the way he always did before.
  2119. 2119.
    >You smiled warmly, thinking back to the moments you’d shared with him tonight.
  2120. 2120.
    >Then again, maybe you knew him a lot better now.
  2121. 2121.
    >Obsessively looking out for others, laughing all the while anything bad was happening to him, but snarling as soon as a friend’s back was against the wall.
  2122. 2122.
    >You turned to him almost on a whim and spoke,
  2123. 2123.
    “The situation is what’s different now, not the transformed people in it. You know?”
  2124. 2124.
    >Chad shook his head and laughed.
  2125. 2125.
    >”No, I don’t know. I do know that you think too much, just like Anonymous does.”
  2126. 2126.
    “Sure... Sure...”
  2127. 2127.
    >He had a point.
  2128. 2128.
    >But it also crossed your mind now, that the three of you were not exactly ‘average’.
  2129. 2129.
    >Anonymous in particular was one of the most wilful people you’d ever met, full of a very strange sort of motivation that only she really understood.
  2130. 2130.
    >Always procrastinating, yet overachieving in class.
  2131. 2131.
    >She’d debated a professor once, just to bruise her ego, knowing full well that professor would try and fail her for it.
  2132. 2132.
    >And as for Chad...
  2133. 2133.
    >You shifted in your blanket, and lifted your slender neck up to look at him.
  2134. 2134.
     
  2135. 2135.
    >He was staring quietly at the fire, with his cup clutched between his claws, and his tail slowly tapping beside him.
  2136. 2136.
    “Hey Chad..?”
  2137. 2137.
    >You started.
  2138. 2138.
    >His gaze flicked to you, and his tail stopped mid tap before settling onto the cushion.
  2139. 2139.
    >”Yeah?”
  2140. 2140.
    >He asked.
  2141. 2141.
    >Your head tilted a few degrees while you thought of how to better frame your question.
  2142. 2142.
    >The tilt was a habit from before you were transformed, but it did feel nice having your mane sway whenever you did it now.
  2143. 2143.
    >You could tell it looked beautiful too, this was the second time Chad’s eyes had followed the motion so raptly before he could catch himself.
  2144. 2144.
    >Smiling, you straightened your head out and finally asked,
  2145. 2145.
    “Is it true you were part of a paramilitary group?”
  2146. 2146.
    >To your surprise, Chad’s beak gaped open.
  2147. 2147.
    >After blinking half a dozen times, he asked,
  2148. 2148.
    >”Anonymous really told you about that?”
  2149. 2149.
    “Yeah, was she not supposed to tell anyone?”
  2150. 2150.
    >Chad looked like he didn’t know how to process that right away.
  2151. 2151.
    >He set his tea down quite quickly and broke eye contact with you, as he mulled it over with one of his hands pressed over his beak.
  2152. 2152.
    >This went on for maybe a minute or two, interrupted only by Chad’s pupils swiftly scanning your face once in a while.
  2153. 2153.
    >You watched carefully, kept your face neutral, and stayed patient.
  2154. 2154.
    >He was a very wary person after all, with some good and some bad reasons to be.
  2155. 2155.
    >After a deep sigh, Chad finally relented, and put on an uneasy looking smile before he spoke.
  2156. 2156.
    >”Well fuck. No, I never told her not to tell anyone, but obviously it’s something that just...”
  2157. 2157.
    >He held his breath, then shook his head, threw his claws up and finished.
  2158. 2158.
    >“It doesn’t matter. If she really trusts you that much then I have to. What did she tell you? What did you want to know about it?”
  2159. 2159.
    >You nodded and answered back,
  2160. 2160.
    “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. She just mentioned it in passing, told me that you left the group before going to university and that you were through with that stuff. It almost sounded like a joke at the time. So, I was just curious if it was true... Well really I...”
  2161. 2161.
    >Another pause as you gathered your thoughts from earlier.
  2162. 2162.
    >Chad seemed to relax quite a bit when you said he didn’t have to tell you anything.
  2163. 2163.
    >He rested confidently on his elbows while you continued.
  2164. 2164.
    “I was just thinking about the three of us, and how we’re all still basically the same after transforming. But I’ve noticed some subtle mental changes, so subtle they don’t really effect us in the end but...”
  2165. 2165.
    >Chad picked up the line of conversation right away.
  2166. 2166.
    >”But they’re there. I’ve got a prey drive now. I can still stop myself from pursuing, but...”
  2167. 2167.
    >Suddenly he was animated, and he gestured with his claws, banging a balled up fist of talons into his open hand.
  2168. 2168.
    >”Fucking BAM! It’s like a starter pistol. It’s an actual, physical reaction. Kneejerk reaction. Nothing else but sprinting and pouncing feels like the right thing to do when it happens.”
  2169. 2169.
     
  2170. 2170.
    >The firelight was blazing red hot in his eyes, and a strange half smile, half grimace played around his beak.
  2171. 2171.
    >You thought Chad’s experience was quite a bit more visceral, but you could still sympathize from how you had felt galloping earlier.
  2172. 2172.
    >So you nodded, and continued.
  2173. 2173.
    “Yes. The effects seem like they can be ignored most of the time. But we’re all-”
  2174. 2174.
    >”Redpilled.”
  2175. 2175.
    >Your mood instantly flipped from concern to reluctantly amused and excessively exasperated.
  2176. 2176.
    >For the first time, you felt the urge to strike Chad with your hoof.
  2177. 2177.
    >Clearly, Anonymous didn’t beat him enough, you thought, as you glared into those squinted yellow eyes and at that smug sneer of his.
  2178. 2178.
    >Once Chad had finished snickering, you started over again.
  2179. 2179.
    “We’re all very willful people.”
  2180. 2180.
    >Chad nodded and brought a claw up under his beak, looking thoughtful.
  2181. 2181.
    >Then he reached for his tea and took a sip.
  2182. 2182.
    >”You’re saying we’re the exception to the rule. Anonymous was talking about that earlier, how dead the ‘muggles’ reaction to this has been.”
  2183. 2183.
    >You flashed your eyes at him, feeling quite grave of a sudden.
  2184. 2184.
    “If more and more people really start transforming like this, the changes for them might not be so subtle. Especially down the line, when a lot of people around them have also been changed.”
  2185. 2185.
    >Chad’s smile was grim as he answered you.
  2186. 2186.
    >”Might be a little funnier to watch than wages infinitely approaching zero and GDP endlessly going up, at least.”
  2187. 2187.
    >You scoffed, and drank your tea.
  2188. 2188.
    >Your gaze passed over the fireplace.
  2189. 2189.
    >It had burned down some now, the wood inside was charred through, and red hot embers tumbled from its ends.
  2190. 2190.
    >The sky had clouded over, so that the only light was from the hearth; a strong, primitive and flickering orange glow that lit just the slice of the living room that you, Chad, and Anonymous occupied.
  2191. 2191.
    >You felt comfortably alone with your friends.
  2192. 2192.
    >Between you and Chad it was totally quiet for a time, the two of you just enjoyed the tea and the presence of each other while watching the fire progress.
  2193. 2193.
    >Eventually, you had reached the bottom of your cup.
  2194. 2194.
    >The flames were lapping at nothing but a pile of red hot coals again, and the light had dimmed by half.
  2195. 2195.
    >Chad looked almost like a statue, the faint firelight cast subtle shadows along his face, and glowed in the pits of his eyes.
  2196. 2196.
    >For some reason you felt inclined to press up against him, and he did not protest when you did.
  2197. 2197.
    >You slid into the crook between Chad’s hind end and the back of the couch, laying your head down across his ribs.
  2198. 2198.
    >He was so warm, almost hot even.
  2199. 2199.
    >Your tail batted under the blanket, automatically, and your ears flicked as if to knock away some dust.
  2200. 2200.
    >The two of you sighed in turn, settling deeper into the sofa while pondering the embers.
  2201. 2201.
    >Not thinking much about it, you turned your head, and pressed an ear against Chad’s side.
  2202. 2202.
    >His heartbeat wasn’t as loud as you were expecting.
  2203. 2203.
    >But it was so, so slow.
  2204. 2204.
    >Maybe 30 per minute?
  2205. 2205.
    >”...What are you doing?”
  2206. 2206.
     
  2207. 2207.
    >You flicked your gaze up at Chad’s puzzled expression, as you tipped your head back upright and blinked.
  2208. 2208.
    >Instead of saying anything, you just smiled and let your weight rest on him some more, enjoying the heat.
  2209. 2209.
    >Chad’s eyes narrowed, and his beak peeked open a little, likely in disgust.
  2210. 2210.
    >In a dark, dramatic and hoarse murmur he cast a set of claws over his face and said,
  2211. 2211.
    >”Women... This is why... I’m incel...”
  2212. 2212.
    >You held it together for a full second before your face cracked and you laughed.
  2213. 2213.
    >Then you dug out a fore hoof from under your chest and pointed it at him while you hissed,
  2214. 2214.
    “Shut up! Shush!”
  2215. 2215.
    >Chad kept his face turned towards the hearth, but there was the dead giveaway of a smile around his beak.
  2216. 2216.
    >You fake scoffed and wedged yourself even tighter between him and the back of the couch.
  2217. 2217.
    >He really was just so warm, like a space heater.
  2218. 2218.
    >A big, fluffy...
  2219. 2219.
    >Space...
  2220. 2220.
    >A tremendous yawn escaped your little muzzle.
  2221. 2221.
    >You were feeling pleased, but also nearly asleep, so you decided to pile another log on the fire to keep from nodding off.
  2222. 2222.
    >The intensity of thought needed to summon a hand from this far away, and pick something up with it accurately was decently high.
  2223. 2223.
    >You wouldn’t say it was exponentially harder or anything, but whatever logically seemed to be a more difficult feat physically, trended to being one magically.
  2224. 2224.
    >Nonetheless, you managed to get together enough focus to conjure a hand and get it done, between a few yawns.
  2225. 2225.
    >The log crackled and spat on the bed of red coals for a few seconds before you shut the door, and the draft, cutting out the sound.
  2226. 2226.
    >As you watched, it flashed into uproarious flame, lighting up the whole room again, and making your eyelids feel plenty lighter.
  2227. 2227.
    >Then you turned to look at Chad, satisfied with your horndiwork.
  2228. 2228.
    >Blank, white, shut lids stared back at you, and for a second you thought he was asleep.
  2229. 2229.
    >But it was just a long spell of resting his eyes, he blinked, and in a moment his crystal clear gaze was pointed at you again.
  2230. 2230.
    >”Sup.”
  2231. 2231.
    “About earlier,”
  2232. 2232.
    >You started.
  2233. 2233.
    “What did that gnome actually promise Anonymous again? I tried to piece together what the spell might have done, but none of it really made sense.”
  2234. 2234.
    >Chad nodded, and peered into the fire.
  2235. 2235.
    >His aspect was particularly soothing to look at just then, and for once you had the real sense that he had come to some reasonable terms with what had happened.
  2236. 2236.
    >He was relaxed, his arms crossed, his neck straight and his beak pointed true.
  2237. 2237.
    >After a while he answered,
  2238. 2238.
    >”Nothing. All he promised basically, was that the spell would ‘reverse the effects of PON-E’.”
  2239. 2239.
    >So that was it, that was what you had forgotten.
  2240. 2240.
    >It felt like a rock had been lifted from the pit of your stomach.
  2241. 2241.
    >You nodded and swept your mane aside, blinking slowly.
  2242. 2242.
    >You must have been subconsciously thinking this all along, because it fell from your mouth so easily,
  2243. 2243.
    “No one is turning back.”
  2244. 2244.
    >”Not until I kill him.”
  2245. 2245.
    >Chad added.
  2246. 2246.
     
  2247. 2247.
    >The implications slogged through your mind at a tiring crawl, and you were so through with it you actually yawned, before you shared your thoughts with Chad.
  2248. 2248.
    “All the temporary transformations must have been reversed to be permanent.”
  2249. 2249.
    >He nodded and yawned back, before saying his own piece,
  2250. 2250.
    >”Now all the gnomes have to do is keep tainting medicine and food with PON-E until there isn’t even any humans to keep distribution up... Must be Rothschilds involved somehow, but I don’t get their angle...”
  2251. 2251.
    >Chad’s answer petered right out at the end into drowsy muttering, as he laid his head down on the arm rest.
  2252. 2252.
    >You shifted around until you were more comfortable under your blanket, tucking your legs in nicely, then you heaved a sigh and said,
  2253. 2253.
    “At least there isn’t a time limit on fixing things then. We can sleep. We should sleep...”
  2254. 2254.
    >Ahh, getting cozy had been a mistake, you thought.
  2255. 2255.
    >Chad was warm sure, but his ribs weren’t the most comfortable thing to rest your head against.
  2256. 2256.
    “Just... AAAaaaaaaahhhhh....”
  2257. 2257.
    >You yawned.
  2258. 2258.
    >Chad stared dully at you, barely clinging to consciousness.
  2259. 2259.
    “Don’t fall asleep yet.”
  2260. 2260.
    >With that, you struggled onto your fore legs, and stretched your nimble neck out as long as you could to reach the pillows you kept stuck behind the back of the sofa.
  2261. 2261.
    >You yanked one out with your mouth, then tossed it into Chad’s waiting claws, then you yanked another and dropped it beneath you, right over top of him.
  2262. 2262.
    >Most of a sentence made it out of your mouth before you yawned again and resigned yourself to slumber.
  2263. 2263.
    “Tomorrow... we should... gather... infor-maaaaaayyyyshuunnn... aaaa...”
  2264. 2264.
    >Your eyes crashed shut as you careened into the downy cushion below.
  2265. 2265.
     
  2266. 2266.
     
  2267. 2267.
    ##Anu
  2268. 2268.
     
  2269. 2269.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXEnNyPV9QE
  2270. 2270.
    [Komorebi - Backwoods]
  2271. 2271.
    >There was an endless tape you had playing in the foggy depths of your head.
  2272. 2272.
    >It was a recording of every time your mother had called your name.
  2273. 2273.
    >”Anonymous.” ”Hey, Anonymous.” “Anon.” “~Good morning Anonymous!” “Anonymous!” “Anon...” “Anonymous?” “Good night, Anonymous.” “Eat up Anon!” “Oh, hello Anonymous!” “ANONYMOUS.”
  2274. 2274.
    >It all appeared to you in a grainy film view, projected on a wall you weren’t familiar with.
  2275. 2275.
    >You were still a pony, and you could feel your fur rubbing against the grain of the fuzz of the air mattress beneath you.
  2276. 2276.
    >The atmosphere was damp and smelled like sea-spray.
  2277. 2277.
    >From the one window in the tiny room you were in, up on the wall to your right, you could hear the sound of waves crashing nearby.
  2278. 2278.
    >Your mother’s changing faces reeled by, from smiling to grinning to laughing to crying to staring to-
  2279. 2279.
    >Suddenly the scene in the film shifted, melting away like a bad artifact in an old video file, into a shot of a streetlamp with a dozen moths fluttering around it.
  2280. 2280.
    >Then reality shifted as well and you duly assented, parsing the information in front of your mind’s eye, but processing it..?
  2281. 2281.
    >You were staring at the streetlamp, watching the moths flap around pointlessly, occasionally banging into the plastic casing of the light they’d never quite reach.
  2282. 2282.
    >Sighing, you put your hands in your pockets and started walking down the street, on two feet.
  2283. 2283.
    >Really, you were human again.
  2284. 2284.
    >Wearing jeans again, wearing a normal hoodie again.
  2285. 2285.
    >A short laugh, so short for the moment.
  2286. 2286.
    >Was it you who laughed?
  2287. 2287.
    >Wait, you weren’t you.
  2288. 2288.
    >You were a pony again.
  2289. 2289.
    >The neighbourhood was never yours from the beginning.
  2290. 2290.
    >Everything was in the wrong way, and in the wrong place again.
  2291. 2291.
    >Houses clustered together and piled on top of each other with sheets of corrugated metal and debris branching roofs one to the other.
  2292. 2292.
    >It was a sprawling favela.
  2293. 2293.
    >You saw yourself, as a pony, go flying off the roof of one bodega on a skateboard.
  2294. 2294.
    >She did a kickflip and promptly bit the dust when she landed on the pavement in front of you.
  2295. 2295.
    >But when you looked at her, she was fine.
  2296. 2296.
    >You stood there, and you stood there, staring back at yourself.
  2297. 2297.
    >Then to your right, you saw yourself again, human, male, standing there.
  2298. 2298.
    >He was staring at a streetlamp.
  2299. 2299.
    >Suddenly a your face burned with stinging pain.
  2300. 2300.
    >The scene changed to be replaced with another, and it was like twisting the lens of a kaleidoscope, all flash and colour.
  2301. 2301.
    >You were fighting in a pit of gravel and slate.
  2302. 2302.
    >Fighting a unicorn, with patches of scales in his fur, metal wings on his back and claws on his hooves.
  2303. 2303.
    >The rain was beating down on the both of you but he looked untouched.
  2304. 2304.
    >No, you were laying on a sofa.
  2305. 2305.
    >You could smell soap.
  2306. 2306.
    >The smell of ozone was strong in the air, and as if to punctuate it, a great bolt of lighting reached down from a thunderhead above and struck the unicorn’s wings.
  2307. 2307.
     
  2308. 2308.
    >His fur was white, so white your fur could not be called white anymore, especially with how tarnished it had gotten in the mud and the rain.
  2309. 2309.
    >His scales and wings were of burnished brass.
  2310. 2310.
    >The fabric of the sofa was soft and nostalgic, it reminded you of days you thought you’d forgotten, when you were just 3 years old.
  2311. 2311.
    >You were kicking with all your might against the unicorn, going blow for blow, buck for buck, as he struck back and parried with his horn.
  2312. 2312.
    >Five times he nearly gored you on the end of it, and four times he cut just askance with his claws, tearing your flesh.
  2313. 2313.
    >The sun was shining through the window, on your face
  2314. 2314.
    >You blinked and everything was bright.
  2315. 2315.
    >Everything was okay.
  2316. 2316.
    >You were comfortably snuggled up in a fleece blanket, laying on a fat red sofa, with your head smushed into a pillow.
  2317. 2317.
    >Your memories of the journey through slumber that you’d only just quit moments ago, were quickly sifting their way out of your mind as you blinked and fidgeted.
  2318. 2318.
    >You just managed to hold on to the memory of that lonely room by the ocean, and started to recount it to yourself in your head to remember better.
  2319. 2319.
    >Then the crackling, spitting sound of bacon frying made your ears twitch and turn.
  2320. 2320.
    >There was also talking somewhere behind you, a familiar feminine contralto, and a stranger tone that answered it.
  2321. 2321.
    >You tried to lift yourself up, and that comforted feeling you had was washed away in a sea of vertigo.
  2322. 2322.
    >Your face fell back into the pillow, and you moaned feebly.
  2323. 2323.
    “MMnnnngghh...”
  2324. 2324.
    >Your head was like a cup of apple sauce, you felt like if you moved at all, you’d tip it over and just spill your brains everywhere.
  2325. 2325.
    >Without moving any part of yourself besides your eyes, you took in your surroundings, just now starting to associate them with your memories.
  2326. 2326.
    >Right, this was Aisling’s house.
  2327. 2327.
    >There was the fireplace, no fire in it now.
  2328. 2328.
    >The scorch marks on the floor, the open book on the coffee table, two empty cups beside it.
  2329. 2329.
    >Sunbeams speckled by dust gleamed through the window behind your head to land on the wood floor.
  2330. 2330.
    >Across from you, on the other side of the room, you could see the dinner table, with the window looking out on the back yard behind it.
  2331. 2331.
    >But you couldn’t see the kitchen, where everything was happening.
  2332. 2332.
    >”-et the bread? I do-”
  2333. 2333.
    >That was Aisling.
  2334. 2334.
    >”-en she wak-”
  2335. 2335.
    >Who was that?
  2336. 2336.
    >It was all still meaningless to you, the talking.
  2337. 2337.
    >A strange smile tugged at the edges of your lips, you could understand bacon, but not English.
  2338. 2338.
    >If you could just... shift...
  2339. 2339.
    “rrrGGnnhh...”
  2340. 2340.
    >You slid your head up a few inches, and it made you feel like you were swimming upside-down in a turbulent surf, being battered by the tide.
  2341. 2341.
    >Your vision pulsed and wavered, before finally coming into focus again.
  2342. 2342.
    >With breathless blowing, you shifted the blonde strands of your mane out of your eyes.
  2343. 2343.
    >Over the counter, inside the kitchen, you could see a black unicorn standing on a wooden stepping stool in front of the stove.
  2344. 2344.
    >Aisling.
  2345. 2345.
     
  2346. 2346.
    >Her horn was glowing softly, maintaining a magic hand with a spatula in its grip.
  2347. 2347.
    >The metallic ribbon that was her tail bobbed left and right to the tune of her humming.
  2348. 2348.
    >Thank God she was fine.
  2349. 2349.
    >But for all her carefree joy, and all the comfortable things you were surrounded by, you felt totally numb and hollow.
  2350. 2350.
    >Where was Chad?
  2351. 2351.
    >The last thing you remembered before waking up just a minute ago was him stomping out of the fairy circle.
  2352. 2352.
    >Regrets only piled up from there; getting scared when the gnomes were pursuing, freezing up when they appeared, losing your head to your hobby while the gnomes surrounded you, giving in to Clapperleg’s demands with barely a fight...
  2353. 2353.
    >...Casting that spell, with the worst possible timing, right after Chad gave himself up to stop everything.
  2354. 2354.
    >Your breathing came faster and faster as you watched your, mercifully, living friend hum and cook.
  2355. 2355.
    >But you were still too weak to call out to her and ask about Chad.
  2356. 2356.
    >The logic that if Aisling was okay, he must be too, was dreadfully tempting, though you reeled at the thought of clinging to it, in case you were wrong.
  2357. 2357.
    “Uuuuuurrhhg...”
  2358. 2358.
    >As you quietly agonized, Aisling flipped the whole panful of bacon onto a plate, her humming rising to a crescendo of actual singing with the motion.
  2359. 2359.
    >Then, deftly, she went about cracking and frying eggs next.
  2360. 2360.
    >The mare smiled and tossed her silvery mane as she looked behind her to flick off the boiling kettle, still not noticing that you were watching her.
  2361. 2361.
    >”Got the bread.”
  2362. 2362.
    >Your heart jumped in your chest, and your ears pinned themselves flat to your head as your disbelieving eyes stared at the horror that had just walked in.
  2363. 2363.
    >There was a giant talking bird in the kitchen.
  2364. 2364.
    >You could just see the head of it, like a massive hawk’s, over the top of the counter.
  2365. 2365.
    >The sharp yellow eyes on it may as well have been shooting lasers they looked so piercing.
  2366. 2366.
    >One ragged breath escaped your muzzle before you managed to stifle it, worried that the raptor might notice you were there.
  2367. 2367.
    >It had spoken to Aisling like it was nothing.
  2368. 2368.
    >And, like nothing, she turned her slender neck and answered,
  2369. 2369.
    >”Thanks. It’s almost ready. Maybe you should try and wake her up?”
  2370. 2370.
    >The bird somehow dumped the loaf of bread on the counter-top next to Aisling with its leg?
  2371. 2371.
    >Were you still dreaming?
  2372. 2372.
    >What-
  2373. 2373.
    >Without turning his head, the predator’s eye locked onto yours.
  2374. 2374.
    >Your heart was pounding so hard it hurt, as a crooked smirk forked across the hawk’s face.
  2375. 2375.
    >”Really, half past zero-dark-thirty and you’re only awake now?”
  2376. 2376.
    >Half past zero-dark-thirty, the code.
  2377. 2377.
    >‘Hurt, but still alive.’
  2378. 2378.
    >You gasped, and sobbed as all the horror was flushed away with relief.
  2379. 2379.
    >Chad, the hawk was Chad.
  2380. 2380.
    >Your barrel rose and fell abruptly from the harsh staccato of your breathing.
  2381. 2381.
    “Chad...”
  2382. 2382.
    >You cried weakly.
  2383. 2383.
    >Tears were welling in your eyes and your fore legs were kicking desperately beneath the blanket.
  2384. 2384.
    >You wanted so much to fly off the sofa and tackle him, but you just couldn’t.
  2385. 2385.
     
  2386. 2386.
    >Chad’s rictus smirk drooped, his eye, so sharp a moment ago, grew dull and nearly glassy.
  2387. 2387.
    >Slowly he stepped around the counter and you got a look at what he’d become.
  2388. 2388.
    >Front half of a hawk, back half of a lion.
  2389. 2389.
    >Grey, white, rust.
  2390. 2390.
    >He had the feathers of a ferruginous hawk.
  2391. 2391.
    >Everything besides his expression looked like it was shaped for the purpose of killing.
  2392. 2392.
    >Right now, you didn’t care.
  2393. 2393.
    “You’re... alive... thank... God...”
  2394. 2394.
    >You breathed out between great sobs.
  2395. 2395.
    >Chad’s talons scratched and clipped against the wood floor as he walked over to you.
  2396. 2396.
    >That was when the most unfathomable regret of all struck you.
  2397. 2397.
    >It was your fault he was like this, all of it was your fault.
  2398. 2398.
    >You sucked down air and tried to regain your composure, to apologize properly and promise to make amends.
  2399. 2399.
    >But before you could, Chad set a scaled hand on your head, and mussed up your mane.
  2400. 2400.
    >”Don’t apologize.”
  2401. 2401.
    >He was smiling.
  2402. 2402.
    >Aisling was smiling too, her chin resting on crossed hooves.
  2403. 2403.
    >Your face twisted up into a ball of regret, your lips pulled right back and you grimaced.
  2404. 2404.
    >You could taste your tears, dripping past your mouth.
  2405. 2405.
    >This wasn’t right, you didn’t deserve their smiling.
  2406. 2406.
    >All you could think of was what a coward you had been.
  2407. 2407.
    >You sniffed and rubbed some of the wet from your eyes with one hoof, only to cry more.
  2408. 2408.
    >A hoarse, bitter laugh broke past your mouth, and you choked,
  2409. 2409.
    “FUCK... you...”
  2410. 2410.
    >”Anonymous...”
  2411. 2411.
    >Aisling murmured.
  2412. 2412.
    >Chad just shook his head and sighed,
  2413. 2413.
    >”You were cornered, do you seriously think I’m going to blame you for that?”
  2414. 2414.
    >Your anger flashed hot and short like gunfire.
  2415. 2415.
    “If YOU were cornered, I KNOW you would blame yourself!”
  2416. 2416.
    >The stupid crying just wouldn’t stop, you could hardly breathe, and Chad wasn’t taking you seriously.
  2417. 2417.
    >Even around that beak, you could tell he had not been bothered by your outburst at all.
  2418. 2418.
    >Who could blame him?
  2419. 2419.
    >You looked ridiculous right now, just a snivelling little horse in a blanket.
  2420. 2420.
    >He’d probably saved your life and Aisling’s life twenty odd times while you literally just snoozed away.
  2421. 2421.
    >Fuck.
  2422. 2422.
    >Fuck this.
  2423. 2423.
    “Fuck being a pony.”
  2424. 2424.
    >For the first time, your words seemed to have some impact on Chad, and he stepped back from you.
  2425. 2425.
    >Your eyes darted to Aisling.
  2426. 2426.
    >But she was gone to flip eggs or whatever.
  2427. 2427.
    “I’m so...”
  2428. 2428.
    >You breathed, and breathed, fighting back the sobs.
  2429. 2429.
    >Finally, with one great gasp, you managed to get some air in your lungs, and you wiped away the tears from your eyes.
  2430. 2430.
    >You grunted and tried to push yourself up on your hooves forcefully, ignoring the dizzy spell that struck.
  2431. 2431.
    >Chad reached out to stop you, to put you back on your side, but you slapped his claws away with a hoof before stumbling off the couch and onto the floor.
  2432. 2432.
    >You laid there in a pile, groaning, when a sudden and sharp pain cut your breath short.
  2433. 2433.
     
  2434. 2434.
    ##Gratitude
  2435. 2435.
     
  2436. 2436.
    >Reflexively, you wrenched your body off of it’s side and turned your head to check the damage.
  2437. 2437.
    >The lead feathers of your right wing were bent almost all the way backwards against you, and just twitching the affected limb netted you fresh jolts of pain.
  2438. 2438.
    >Burning with frustration, you snapped,
  2439. 2439.
    “Fuck.”
  2440. 2440.
    >Chad simply sighed and shook his head as you struck out with your mouth to lay the feathers back as flat as you could.
  2441. 2441.
    >Then you jerked your wing up against your barrel, where it still throbbed harshly.
  2442. 2442.
    >Now, bracing yourself with short breaths, you planted your hooves on the boards and started the laborious process of standing up all over again, when a scaly yellow hand was lowered in front of your face.
  2443. 2443.
    >You looked up into Chad’s waiting face.
  2444. 2444.
    >Your eyes twitched over his sympathetic expression, as he started to say,
  2445. 2445.
    >”Anonymous-”
  2446. 2446.
    “I’m fine.”
  2447. 2447.
    >You replied curtly.
  2448. 2448.
    >Groaning and aching, you forced yourself to stand.
  2449. 2449.
    >With great pains, wobbling twigs for legs and nausea so bad you nearly threw up, you were finally on all fours and breathing hard.
  2450. 2450.
    >What even was this anyway?
  2451. 2451.
    >A magic hangover?
  2452. 2452.
    >Magic was such horseshit.
  2453. 2453.
    >Aisling and Chad were both standing in front of you now, with no expressions to be read on their faces.
  2454. 2454.
    >Out of everything, it hurt you the most to see them like that, because you knew it was your actions that had put them in this position.
  2455. 2455.
    >All the more, it made you feel like this was the right thing to do.
  2456. 2456.
    >You had to take responsibility first, even if that came across as callous or ungrateful.
  2457. 2457.
    >So, as gravely as you could manage, you sunk your head low into a bow and apologized.
  2458. 2458.
    “I’m sorry, please forgive me. I will help fix this.”
  2459. 2459.
    >For a minute neither of them responded, and you didn’t move, you just stared at the floor.
  2460. 2460.
    >All you could hear was your own heart, and the occasional spit of grease from the pan on the stove.
  2461. 2461.
    >It was kind of soothing on your magic hangover actually, like a recovery position.
  2462. 2462.
    >Suddenly your ears twitched to the sound of Chad’s claws scraping the floor, and the clopping of Aisling’s hooves soon after.
  2463. 2463.
    >You lifted your eyes, expecting to seem them walking up to you, maybe for some corny make-up group hug.
  2464. 2464.
    >...That you half-way wanted.
  2465. 2465.
    >But they had taken their seats at the dinner table instead, where Aisling already had breakfast all laid out.
  2466. 2466.
    >You blinked.
  2467. 2467.
    >And stared.
  2468. 2468.
    >Chad snipped off a section of toast with his beak, popped in a strip of bacon, sucked an egg yolk out from the white and chased it all down with most of his share of coffee before Aisling had hovered her fork over.
  2469. 2469.
    >Grunting approvingly, he reached over to pat and rub her hoof on the table while looking her up and down like they were some elderly couple.
  2470. 2470.
    >Aisling just rolled her eyes and laughed before digging into her eggs.
  2471. 2471.
    >”Hey, geek.”
  2472. 2472.
    >Chad’s voice snapped you back into yourself.
  2473. 2473.
    >He was hitting you with a baffled expression.
  2474. 2474.
     
  2475. 2475.
    >As if it was the most obvious thing in the world, Chad jabbed a thumb talon out next to him, at another plate of food.
  2476. 2476.
    >”Breakfast come on, you need it.”
  2477. 2477.
    >Your heart sunk, you tucked one fore leg behind the other, and blood rushed to your face as your tail swayed left to right.
  2478. 2478.
    >You were in the rapid process of actually waking up, and the more your brain pumped, the stupider you felt.
  2479. 2479.
    >FUCK this was embarrassing now.
  2480. 2480.
    >It just hit you that you’d been a self-centred moron all morning.
  2481. 2481.
    >Refusing help, and insisting on apologizing while secretly waiting for your friends to just forgive you and make up right away anyhow?
  2482. 2482.
    >Chad rolled his eyes at your expression, then held his claw out at you as he shook his head, brashly imploring,
  2483. 2483.
    >”Don’t make this any weirder alright? We’re already two unicorns, a dozen gnomes, and a griffon away from normal. Let’s at least eat breakfast like it’s nothing.”
  2484. 2484.
    >Aisling just smiled at you a little wanly, her eyes glancing at your friend as he emoted.
  2485. 2485.
    >You bit your lip.
  2486. 2486.
    >You’d been desperately melodramatic, you realized, and now you could feel the secondhand embarrassment of your friends.
  2487. 2487.
    >Just... Relax, you thought.
  2488. 2488.
    >Nodding without speaking another word, you walked over and clumsily climbed into your seat, without Chad or Aisling offering you any assistance.
  2489. 2489.
    >You resolved yourself to just stay quiet and eat for now, get your energy up before you said anything else.
  2490. 2490.
    >But before your mouth reached the plate, Chad spoke again.
  2491. 2491.
    >”I don’t forgive you, because there’s nothing to forgive.”
  2492. 2492.
    >Your eyes flicked to him, watching him vigorously dab his toast into the yolk of his second egg.
  2493. 2493.
    >He snapped up a bite, and spoke around it with his eyes more intent on his bacon than you,
  2494. 2494.
    >”And obfiously ur gonna help stupid.”
  2495. 2495.
    >Aisling chimed in, and her eyes gleamed meaningfully at yours.
  2496. 2496.
    >”If anything, I have more to apologize for than you, but if we started now, we would be at it all day.”
  2497. 2497.
    >Chad stabbed his last strip of bacon with a talon.
  2498. 2498.
    >”Then there would be no time to kill that thing.”
  2499. 2499.
    >You sympathized immediately with the dark look in his eyes.
  2500. 2500.
    >For the first time all morning, there was something you could speak to with confidence, like a gleaming bit of gold you’d swept the sand and grit away from.
  2501. 2501.
    >The feeling was as if the fact had been revealed to you in your dreams last night, though you could sift what memories you had of them and know for certain it wasn’t.
  2502. 2502.
    >Calmly, you said,
  2503. 2503.
    “He’s not a gnome.”
  2504. 2504.
    >And punctuated it with a bite of egg.
  2505. 2505.
    >Aisling tilted her head from behind her hoisted mug, curiously, and her ears flopped to the side.
  2506. 2506.
    >Your griffon friend just paid rapt attention, crunching toast awkwardly with his beak.
  2507. 2507.
    >For the next moment, you took a bite of your toast while you formalized the explanation in your head.
  2508. 2508.
    >They both waited patiently, eating too, until finally you swallowed and continued.
  2509. 2509.
     
  2510. 2510.
    “It’s the nickname that gave it away, Clapperleg. I got halfway to making the connection when he said it back then, but dropped it because uh...”
  2511. 2511.
    >You stuck your tongue out and set your head askance, staring at the floor while you thought of a good euphemism for “I was quizzing a gnome on what myths about his race were true while they had us surrounded”.
  2512. 2512.
    >Chad sighed and leaned back in his chair, drinking more coffee before he cleanly capped off your sentence.
  2513. 2513.
    >”You were busy.”
  2514. 2514.
    >With your mouth in a thin line, you nodded to him.
  2515. 2515.
    “Yeah. I was busy.”
  2516. 2516.
    >You took a deep breath and focused again, this next part was too important to fuck up.
  2517. 2517.
    >Looking straight at both of your friends, you continued.
  2518. 2518.
    “His real name is Cichol Gricenchos. They’re Fomorians, not gnomes.”
  2519. 2519.
    >Faint recognition was dawning in Aisling’s eyes, but there were wrinkles of doubt on her brow too.
  2520. 2520.
    >Chad just nodded.
  2521. 2521.
    >”How do we kill Fomorians? I tried steel and it worked pretty good.”
  2522. 2522.
    >For a moment, Aisling had opened her mouth and raised a hoof to cut in, but stopped and stared at Chad instead.
  2523. 2523.
    >The bird brain was leaning his chair way back on two legs in front of a clean plate and an empty cup of coffee.
  2524. 2524.
    >That arrogant smirk on his face made you feel like nothing had changed, at least not since the day he got duct tape off of your fore legs with olive oil.
  2525. 2525.
    >You grinned and laughed right at Chad, while he looked on, bemused.
  2526. 2526.
    >The unicorn at the end of the table let out a little giggle too.
  2527. 2527.
    >Peering at you, he asked.
  2528. 2528.
    >”What?”
  2529. 2529.
    >And eventually you packed your mirth in enough to answer.
  2530. 2530.
    “You got turned into a griffon by stepping out of a ring of mushrooms last night. You don’t even know what a Fomorian is. I... I may as well be talking Star Trek right now, and you’re just going to run in there and kill them anyway?”
  2531. 2531.
    >Chad shrugged.
  2532. 2532.
    >”As far as I’m concerned, you always are. I already know what I know, and what I don’t know I know you know.”
  2533. 2533.
    >Aisling and you just gaped.
  2534. 2534.
    >Letting his head fall back out of exasperation, Chad splayed out his arms and pointed his next remark right at you,
  2535. 2535.
    >”You remember what you said, back in high school, after that big fight.”
  2536. 2536.
    “...What. Not... not that ‘you hold the monopoly’ right?”
  2537. 2537.
    >You shook your head after you answered and started pecking at your eggs again, hardly believing that was even something you’d considered.
  2538. 2538.
    >...But the silence was ominous enough to make you look up.
  2539. 2539.
    >Chad was grinning.
  2540. 2540.
    >”I hold the monopoly on violence. Always liked the way you put it back then, nice vocabulary. ‘You hold the monopoly on violence, and you dispense with it judiciously.’”
  2541. 2541.
    >He quoted.
  2542. 2542.
    >The memory flashed through your head; you’d just gotten out of a schoolyard brawl with Chad at your side, not totally on the winning end of the scale.
  2543. 2543.
    >He was bummed out, wiping the blood out of his mouth, until you had put on a mocking, drama club kid voice and said something corny to lighten the mood.
  2544. 2544.
    “That was a jok....”
  2545. 2545.
     
  2546. 2546.
    >In a disbelief so profound that you failed to keep talking, you watched as the bird brain in front of you held a set of claws to his chest and spoke again using that odd locution unique to him.
  2547. 2547.
    >”I trust that you can trust me to dispense the violence judiciously on your behalf.”
  2548. 2548.
    >Aisling was halfway to rubbing her face off with her hooves.
  2549. 2549.
    >You wanted desperately for him to just stop talking.
  2550. 2550.
    >Telling him anything ever was a mistake.
  2551. 2551.
    >Your tail was whipping the chair so hard it stung, and your cheeks were burning with blush.
  2552. 2552.
    >Sensing your discomfort, Chad broke things up with a chuckle full of bravado as he set his chair aright again and smacked you on the withers.
  2553. 2553.
    >But he felt the need to fire one last torpedo of a sentence at your ears as he reached over and stole your untouched bacon too.
  2554. 2554.
    >”You point. I shoot. I don’t care what Fomorians are really, but go ahead.”
  2555. 2555.
    >There was nothing you could do but physically cringe away while Chad crunched happily at the strip of meat.
  2556. 2556.
    >...Aisling was the first to break the silence, with a question pointed at you.
  2557. 2557.
    >”It’s a bit of a stretch to say they came all the way here don’t you think?”
  2558. 2558.
    >You gathered yourself, munched up some toast, and nodded.
  2559. 2559.
    “Yeah, but I really don’t see any other explanation. It all fits together way too well. Clapperleg is an actual word that has been used as a translation for Cichol’s epithet, Gricenchos.”
  2560. 2560.
    >Now you looked at Chad and asked him directly,
  2561. 2561.
    “He showed you his feet right?”
  2562. 2562.
    >And Chad nodded back, with some disgust lingering on his lips at the memory.
  2563. 2563.
    >”They were fucked.”
  2564. 2564.
    >Nodding, you turned your gaze back to Aisling, who was looking a little more convinced at this point.
  2565. 2565.
    “There’s another detail I haven’t really mentioned yet,”
  2566. 2566.
    >You started.
  2567. 2567.
    >But first you had to confirm your suspicions with Chad.
  2568. 2568.
    “You mentioned earlier that steel worked on them, does that mean you couldn’t hurt them without it?”
  2569. 2569.
    >Chad nodded and showed you his left hand bristling with sharp talons.
  2570. 2570.
    >”I stuck Clapperleg or Cichol or whatever with these and he didn’t even bleed. But before that I remembered something you said about fairies so I stabbed him in the chest with my knife and nearly killed him before he got away. Tore another one of them in half, no blood, still alive. The knife was definitely the only thing that could hurt them. Left it back there in one of their skulls.”
  2571. 2571.
    >Hearing that made you completely certain of your theory.
  2572. 2572.
    >You sipped some coffee and continued what you were going to say before, with your eyes on Aisling especially.
  2573. 2573.
    “I could hurt him, with my own body. He bled after that kick. No iron necessary. That’s what really confirms it for me, it must be my Celtic ancestry that allows me to do it.”
  2574. 2574.
    >”Partholón...”
  2575. 2575.
    >Aisling murmured.
  2576. 2576.
    >Finally, Chad seemed curious, and looked to you inquiringly.
  2577. 2577.
    >You broke it down simply for him,
  2578. 2578.
     
  2579. 2579.
    “Basically the Fomorians were this mythical race of subterranean slash deep sea people or creatures depending on how you interpret the writings. They were the original inhabitants of what we call Ireland now. Partholón was a man who came with group of settlers to the island, he was supposed to have killed Cichol, Clapperleg, and scattered the Fomorians. Although there are accounts that say Partholón only defeated him.”
  2580. 2580.
    >The griffon seemed satisfied, and walked away to get himself another cup of coffee.
  2581. 2581.
    >Aisling pushed her empty plate aside and leaned over the table far enough to have both of her fore legs on it, her tail idly swishing back and forth as she pressed you with another question.
  2582. 2582.
    >”So what do you think they’re doing looking like gnomes? Their methods with the verbal contracts were very specific.”
  2583. 2583.
    >You finished off your eggs and answered,
  2584. 2584.
    “If we think about it this way, now that the existence of these things is confirmed, we should assume that much of, if not all mythology is real in one way or another.”
  2585. 2585.
    >Pressing a hoof to her chin, Aisling laid into the table and thought for a minute.
  2586. 2586.
    >Then she said,
  2587. 2587.
    >”There are a lot of trickster spirits in myth after all... And the Fomorians were portrayed as being a kind of mix of different creatures. Maybe they can shape shift? And they just decided to look like gnomes for that encounter?”
  2588. 2588.
    >You shrugged.
  2589. 2589.
    “It probably doesn’t matter too much either way, but at least we won’t be surprised if they look different when we see them again.”
  2590. 2590.
    >Chad was back from the kitchen, with a fresh mug of hot coffee in his grasp.
  2591. 2591.
    >Speaking to the both of you he proposed,
  2592. 2592.
    >”Let’s turn on the fake news, see if Anon’s spell did anything noticeable.”
  2593. 2593.
    >You both nodded, and got up from your chairs.
  2594. 2594.
    >For a second you eyed your half full cup of coffee, regretful to leave it behind, when suddenly it was wrapped in a turquoise glow and floated off.
  2595. 2595.
    >Aisling gave you a smile, her horn glowing and both your mug and hers hovering by her.
  2596. 2596.
    “Thanks.”
  2597. 2597.
    >”Yeah, no problem. I should try to teach you how after this.”
  2598. 2598.
    >That lit a flame of excitement in your belly.
  2599. 2599.
    >You could cast spells now, it made you want to try it right away.
  2600. 2600.
    >For the moment though, you just sat down on the couch with your friends, in front of the TV and the empty fireplace.
  2601. 2601.
    >Chad was laying a bit like a sphinx, with his arms crossed over the arm rest beside him.
  2602. 2602.
    >His face was turned intelligently at you, like many birds of prey you’d seen before, and it felt a little uncanny knowing this was your friend.
  2603. 2603.
    >You sat up straight between his lion back half and Aisling.
  2604. 2604.
    >Passively, you turned your head back to peek out the window.
  2605. 2605.
    >It was bright and sunny outside, but probably still frigid, since the snow hadn’t melted down much at all.
  2606. 2606.
    >Aisling drew the curtains to keep the glare off the screen, obscuring your view, so you turned back around.
  2607. 2607.
    >With a quick spell, Aisling flicked the TV on.
  2608. 2608.
     
  2609. 2609.
    ##The Reveal
  2610. 2610.
     
  2611. 2611.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GKHaQ2MpuI
  2612. 2612.
    [Aphex Twin - Stone in Focus]
  2613. 2613.
    >The grainy recording of an infomercial appeared on the screen, and the scene was an older man spilling a glass of milk down his shirt.
  2614. 2614.
    >Click!
  2615. 2615.
    >Your ears were pummelled with an exceedingly generic electric guitar riff, causing them to flip flat to your head, while on screen two boys were gunning each other down with foam dart blasters.
  2616. 2616.
    >Click!
  2617. 2617.
    >While you watched Aisling tumble through the channels, you braced yourself mentally.
  2618. 2618.
    >The worst case was that any amount of PON-E was enough to be permanently transformed, and the dwarves had started putting it in food.
  2619. 2619.
    >You swallowed as the channels came and went; commercials and pre-recorded programs blaring for a second before giving out to the next number’s moment of white noise.
  2620. 2620.
    >Aisling was clearly searching for something live, and with how fast she was going one might have thought she was getting frantic, but her face hardly seemed to have lost any of that relaxed glow from breakfast.
  2621. 2621.
    >Now that you thought about it, her and Chad had been given a lot more time to process all of this...
  2622. 2622.
    >It made you wish that you had asked some pointed questions earlier, instead of sperging out about ‘blame’ and ‘responsibility’, but it was too late now.
  2623. 2623.
    >Whatever the outcome of the spell was, that was just it, the outcome.
  2624. 2624.
    >All you could do now was observe.
  2625. 2625.
    >Despite that, your thoughts still hurriedly rounded back to the possibilities, while your body fidgeted and fretted.
  2626. 2626.
    >You had to stop yourself from trying to bite one of your hooves like it was a fingernail.
  2627. 2627.
    >If the worst case was true, and it likely was, there would have been a sudden mass outbreak of transformations.
  2628. 2628.
    >And if not yet, then soon...
  2629. 2629.
    “Fuck...”
  2630. 2630.
    >You whispered, hardly audible over the insensate babble of an advertisement for a cereal brand.
  2631. 2631.
    >...The insidious option of a slow poisoning had just smuggled its way into your head.
  2632. 2632.
    >Although it was technically an even more horrific possibility than instant widespread transformation, it left you with the tempting possibility of deferring blame over time.
  2633. 2633.
    >But you quashed it right away.
  2634. 2634.
    >In that last moment before you had blanked out from the magic flooding through your brain, you’d seen real fear in Clapperleg, in Cichol’s eyes.
  2635. 2635.
    >The Fomorian’s gnomish contract deception had been clever and calculated on a surface level, but the more you poked and pulled at their nature, the more you saw the attack for what it was.
  2636. 2636.
    >A desperation play.
  2637. 2637.
    >This idea of a slow, drawn out extinction of mankind through PON-E tainting was just not possible.
  2638. 2638.
    >The Fomorians did not have that kind of time.
  2639. 2639.
    >You had no idea why they didn’t, but still you had no doubt.
  2640. 2640.
    >Before you could form a more concrete basis beyond that first gut feeling, Chad cut in, clicking his beak and pointing with his claw.
  2641. 2641.
    >”Go back one. That was the news, it was just on commercial.”
  2642. 2642.
    >Aisling nodded and acquiesced.
  2643. 2643.
    >It was the middle of some car advert.
  2644. 2644.
     
  2645. 2645.
    >As the seconds ticked by, and the corny ‘uplifting’ piano in the ad plinged and plonged, your heart pumped faster and faster.
  2646. 2646.
    >You knew no matter what had happened your friends wouldn’t blame you, and that what Chad had said earlier was more than just.
  2647. 2647.
    >But your body just didn’t seem to believe it.
  2648. 2648.
    >Your ears rotated all about to the tiniest noises, your tail kept twitching and shivering almost violently, and your withers were tensed up as solid as rock.
  2649. 2649.
    >Suddenly, your sweater felt uncomfortably warm, and with a jolt you realized you were panicking.
  2650. 2650.
    >But you were so hopped up on adrenaline that even knowing you were was not enough to calm you down.
  2651. 2651.
    >In a motion about as smooth as grinding two millstones together, you turned your head to look at Aisling.
  2652. 2652.
    >Once again you were amazed at her constitution.
  2653. 2653.
    >She tipped her muzzle so deftly to drink from her cup of coffee, that only a single hair in her mane drifted over her eyes.
  2654. 2654.
    >And it seemed to just melt back into the molten silvery flow as she straightened out again.
  2655. 2655.
    >You had been half hoping for some encouraging words, but her gaze was fixed so raptly on the screen that she didn’t notice you looking at her.
  2656. 2656.
    >Somehow you couldn’t muster the energy to talk right now anyway, so you turned away.
  2657. 2657.
    >On screen, the featured SUV was coming over the top of a hill on a quiet highway through a coniferous forest.
  2658. 2658.
    >A man’s voice with a British accent extolled the virtues of the vehicle while your eyes wandered to the right.
  2659. 2659.
    >Chad seemed calm at first glance, and just as fixed on the TV as Aisling.
  2660. 2660.
    >Suddenly though, the sound of tearing fabric reached your ears, and the source was immediately obvious.
  2661. 2661.
    >Your griffon-friend’s talons were steadily puncturing the arm rest as his claws locked up.
  2662. 2662.
    >Aisling didn’t seem to notice.
  2663. 2663.
    >You motioned to let him know, but your voice never left your throat.
  2664. 2664.
    >The climax of the commercial was coming, it was the typical trope of the SUV coming to a full stop before hitting something.
  2665. 2665.
    >After the stunned, yet relieved face of the actress driving the car faded to a logo on a black background, your muscles all tensed up in anticipation.
  2666. 2666.
    >The screen had gone totally black, the final jingle of the ad had ended.
  2667. 2667.
    >Aisling and Chad and you were all leaned as far forward in your seats as you all could be without falling over.
  2668. 2668.
    >The screen flashed white for a moment, dazzling your eyes, before displaying the typical intro animation of the morning news segment.
  2669. 2669.
    >All three of you sighed loudly, and fell back into the couch.
  2670. 2670.
    >You lowered your head, as your anticipation turned into pent up frustration.
  2671. 2671.
    >To vent some of it off, you forced a second, longer, more lingering sigh from yourself while you stared holes into the floor.
  2672. 2672.
    >Suddenly, the recognizable jabber of a news person started up from the television and you snapped your head up as fast as you could.
  2673. 2673.
     
  2674. 2674.
    >Your eyes locked onto the lit screen, and immediately your whole world gave out below you.
  2675. 2675.
    >Reality was impossibly more terrible than the worst thing you could have thought of.
  2676. 2676.
    >There was a newscaster babbling excitedly and nonsensically to the camera.
  2677. 2677.
    >She was a pony.
  2678. 2678.
    >A raspberry pink pony with a sandy blonde mane, and earmuffs pointlessly pressed to the sides of her head.
  2679. 2679.
    >Her speech was queer, full of strange turns of phrase that made everything she said completely unintelligible at first.
  2680. 2680.
    >But then your brain started to catch up, to process it properly.
  2681. 2681.
    >”-ut everypony is now wondering if the federal government is going to trot in or if they’re going to be delegating this relief effort to a particular somepony, like the minister of health, or if there’s any sort of plan at all. Earlier this morning the Prime Minister released a statement asking ponies to-”
  2682. 2682.
    >It was all ‘horsetalk’, that was the first word that came to your mind.
  2683. 2683.
    >Since you had been transformed, you had experienced instances where in your head you thought up replacement nouns, verbs and colloquialisms that weren’t real, but suited your new body better: everypony, on the other hoof, etc.
  2684. 2684.
    >You’d never said them out loud, except as a joke maybe.
  2685. 2685.
    >But this reporter was spitting them out like it was second nature, there was no put upon act or any indication of a joke in the tone of her voice at all.
  2686. 2686.
    >She was being completely serious.
  2687. 2687.
    >Behind her was some government office, surrounded by thousands of stampeding figures.
  2688. 2688.
    >They were all ponies.
  2689. 2689.
    >There wasn’t a single human in sight.
  2690. 2690.
    >Pegasi soared through the air all around, trash cans and other debris were floating up in magical lights before being flung limply at the walls of the besieged edifice by screaming and whinnying unicorns, normal ponies bucked and kicked and tumbled over each other in the snow and the mud.
  2691. 2691.
    >And everywhere, always, resounded the cacophony of clopping hooves.
  2692. 2692.
    >Aisling whispered beside you, her breath whispering like the wind.
  2693. 2693.
    >“They... reversed...”
  2694. 2694.
    >Taking PON-E will turn a human into a pony.
  2695. 2695.
    >“So... now-”
  2696. 2696.
    >Chad cut her off, and stifled your thoughts with a brief flare of hope.
  2697. 2697.
    >”This might just be a local thing. Switch to 33, then 48, then 56.”
  2698. 2698.
    >Aisling’s magical hand worked the remote in a fury, flicking through all the channel numbers Chad had rattled off in quick succession.
  2699. 2699.
    >A scene in Washington, ponies were stampeding up the steps of the Capitol Buil-
  2700. 2700.
    >Ten ponies were all bucking in unison, against the glass door of an Apple store on a cobbled street corner in Londo-
  2701. 2701.
    >Two unicorns were sat across from each other in a newsroom, while a video of ponies wrapped in blankets, all standing around in Moscow’s Red Squ-
  2702. 2702.
    >Back to the local news.
  2703. 2703.
    >The field outside the building had been thoroughly stomped into muck at this point, and a news anchor, a light green stallion with a slicked back teal mane, was commenting on the situation.
  2704. 2704.
     
  2705. 2705.
    >”Yes well err... The PM has come out with another statement affirming that this is a nationwide issue affecting... Well, everypony. A general state of emergency has been declared-”
  2706. 2706.
    >Chad ripped out a fistful of the armrest and flung it at the television, while Aisling sighed and rubbed at her eyes with a hoof.
  2707. 2707.
    >You breathed out from your nostrils and tried not to boil over.
  2708. 2708.
    >But there was no doubt left, this was clearly not just a mass overdose.
  2709. 2709.
    >The rules had changed.
  2710. 2710.
     
  2711. 2711.
    >NOT taking PON-E will turn a human into a pony.
  2712. 2712.
     
  2713. 2713.
    >You were practically catatonic as you swiftly iterated through the full scope of the calamity, struck so dumb that your tongue actually lolled out of your gaping mouth.
  2714. 2714.
    >Every breath was a rugged struggle, but your heart and mind both raced frenetically.
  2715. 2715.
    >To begin with, your level of thinking had been far too shallow, rather than just making PON-E a more powerful drug, the gnomes had used the existence of PON-E to strike at the very nature of ‘humans existing’.
  2716. 2716.
    >Cichol had specifically said: ‘the effects of PON-E’.
  2717. 2717.
    >Effects, plural.
  2718. 2718.
    >It must be, that only one other thing had been reversed.
  2719. 2719.
    >Before, if a human overdosed on PON-E, they would turn into a pony permanently.
  2720. 2720.
    >So now, if a human overdosed on PON-E, they would turn into a pony temporarily.
  2721. 2721.
    >You, as a human, took one and temporarily turned into a pony.
  2722. 2722.
    >So you were going to turn back after 24 hours.
  2723. 2723.
    >You sucked down air.
  2724. 2724.
    >Then because you weren’t taking any PON-E, you would permanently turn into a pony.
  2725. 2725.
    >You blew it out
  2726. 2726.
    >Even in the spirit of the promise Cichol had made to you, as opposed to the literal words he’d said, it had been a half-truth.
  2727. 2727.
    >If you took two PON-E, you would ‘temporarily’ turn into a pony.
  2728. 2728.
    >So your transformation was now temporary, but at the same time, there was no escape.
  2729. 2729.
    >Aisling was permanently a pony, Chad wasn’t human anymore so none of this applied to him anyway, and nothing had really changed about you.
  2730. 2730.
    >You would have hands, for not even a noticeable moment, then lose your wings and horns, so that you couldn’t even have the snowball’s chance in hell of casting a reversal spell.
  2731. 2731.
    >It was over.
  2732. 2732.
    >Your heart sunk past your chest and into the floor, and your lungs went totally flat.
  2733. 2733.
    >Everything was black.
  2734. 2734.
    >You were falling, maybe thousands of feet through the air.
  2735. 2735.
    >”-nymous. Anonymous.”
  2736. 2736.
    >The falling feeling stopped, then burned away like fog in sunlight.
  2737. 2737.
    >Reality bled back in through your senses
  2738. 2738.
    >Claws pressed against your chest, a hoof rubbing against your shoulder.
  2739. 2739.
    >Piercing yellow eyes, and mirror-pool turquoises peered into yours.
  2740. 2740.
    >Chad’s fearsome beak creaked opened to whisper soft words into your steadily waking ears, as Aisling’s face swam out of view.
  2741. 2741.
    >”Let’s lie down okay? You need to breathe...”
  2742. 2742.
    >You blinked slowly, and inhaled, the air rasping it’s way through your dry throat.
  2743. 2743.
    >Strong arms and sharp claws guided you down onto your side, then gently they moved your legs in towards your body to make you more comfortable.
  2744. 2744.
     
  2745. 2745.
    >Gradually you settled into a breathing rhythm again, your barrel rising and falling at a more natural rate.
  2746. 2746.
    >Your heart sort of hurt, it felt like it was beating too slow after all that rush a moment ago.
  2747. 2747.
    >Chad slumped over on the floor, but kept his head level with yours, still looking you straight in the eyes with his face pressed in close.
  2748. 2748.
    >Your gaze wandered over to where you’d seen the unicorn go.
  2749. 2749.
    >”You drooled over yourself, Aisling went to get some stuff to clean you up.”
  2750. 2750.
    >Like a magic spell, you could suddenly feel the dampness on your furry chest.
  2751. 2751.
    >”Hey,”
  2752. 2752.
    >The griffon whispered to you as quietly as he could, literally touching the inside of your ear with the tip of his beak.
  2753. 2753.
    >His downy neck brushed against the end of your nose as he spoke.
  2754. 2754.
    >”You stopped breathing there, was that the same feeling as when you woke up, or just panic?”
  2755. 2755.
    >After asking, Chad slowly brought his face back, and looked you straight in the eyes.
  2756. 2756.
    >Not with concern, or pity, but with plain ‘care’.
  2757. 2757.
    >The entire sequence had been so wonderfully honest and simple, that it made you want to cry so much, that you couldn’t cry at all.
  2758. 2758.
    >Chad’s gesture was like a beacon leading you back to consciousness and sanity.
  2759. 2759.
    “...panic...”
  2760. 2760.
    >You croaked, and almost laughed.
  2761. 2761.
    >Your friend nodded his feathery head deliberately.
  2762. 2762.
    >”Uh-huh. I can uh... see why.”
  2763. 2763.
    >There was a sudden outburst of sound from the TV screen, some voices were raised in hollering, and the dull sound of flesh beating against flesh drummed away.
  2764. 2764.
    >Anyone else would have turned around to check the television behind them, but Chad reached for the remote and shut it off instead, without moving his face at all.
  2765. 2765.
    “...Sorry.”
  2766. 2766.
    >You gasped out, then this time you actually managed to force out a laugh.
  2767. 2767.
    >Chad smiled and took a wet towel from Aisling.
  2768. 2768.
    >As he dabbed it against your messy fur, he answered,
  2769. 2769.
    >”I told ya that you have nothing to apologize for. You have to look out for yourself a little before you start trying to help other people you know.”
  2770. 2770.
    >A silver hoof gently rapped on Chad’s back, and you heard Aisling scoff,
  2771. 2771.
    >”That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, both of you are so stupid.”
  2772. 2772.
    >He didn’t seem to pay the comment much mind, besides a shrug and a bigger smile while he daubed away.
  2773. 2773.
    >Eventually satisfied with the cleaning, Chad handed the towel back to Aisling before pressing his beak up to your ear again to whisper like he did earlier.
  2774. 2774.
    >”That was a panic attack, I used to have them all the time. How do you feel?”
  2775. 2775.
    >Then his face was back in view, his eyes blinking just once.
  2776. 2776.
    >You pressed your lips together and nodded to show that you understood.
  2777. 2777.
    ”Better... almost normal, just, tired.”
  2778. 2778.
    >Chad nodded, and without breaking eye contact with you, motioned with his claws behind your head.
  2779. 2779.
    >You heard the sound of blinds closing completely, and the room got much dimmer.
  2780. 2780.
    >Instantly you felt an extra degree more at ease.
  2781. 2781.
    >There was nothing to look at but Chad’s face, nothing to feel besides the sofa underneath you and nothing to hear besides your breathing, his breathing, and Aisling’s hooves clopping softly.
  2782. 2782.
    >”Let’s just relax.”
  2783. 2783.
    “Yeah.”
  2784. 2784.
     
  2785. 2785.
    ##Calming Down
  2786. 2786.
     
  2787. 2787.
    >Beams of sunlight, thin like strands of gossamer, faintly illuminated the room with a sleepy glow.
  2788. 2788.
    >Everything was still, besides the sparse few motes of dust that gleamed between the lights.
  2789. 2789.
    >Aisling seemed to have gone upstairs, you couldn’t really tell because your best friend’s hawkish countenance was your whole world right now.
  2790. 2790.
    >Chad’s eyes were almost unblinking, and in this dimness they had assumed a warmer yellow than before, like honey.
  2791. 2791.
    >This was the first time you had taken proper stock of him.
  2792. 2792.
    >While his hawk’s head was totally alien from his human face structurally, there was that unmistakable shimmer of Chad’s soul behind every little element of it.
  2793. 2793.
    >So much so that it made you wonder how you hadn’t recognized him at first.
  2794. 2794.
    >The way he held his gaze, the expression on his mouth, even the way the little feathers on his cheeks were arranged seemed nostalgic to you.
  2795. 2795.
    >Your eyes traced the slope of his brow, curving up and back and down in that characteristic shape of a bird of prey.
  2796. 2796.
    >Chad’s whole head was like a boxy teardrop, with his smooth, curved beak being the tail end.
  2797. 2797.
    >Something about the speckled rusty spots was ‘him’ too, as if it couldn’t be any other way.
  2798. 2798.
    >You wondered if he saw something similar, looking into your face.
  2799. 2799.
    >Was the white fur ‘you’?
  2800. 2800.
    >Did he tousle your blonde mane and still think of the shade your hair was before?
  2801. 2801.
    >Looking into your blue eyes, was he staring through those same two windows to the soul that he had stared through countless times before?
  2802. 2802.
    >Were other people considering this now that they had been transformed too?
  2803. 2803.
    >The content of all this thinking could be disheartening, probably should be, but with Chad here you found it impossible to despair.
  2804. 2804.
    >It felt like you were floating on an overwhelming wave of peace moving from him to you.
  2805. 2805.
    >Because he was not worried, you could be calm.
  2806. 2806.
    >Besides that, the more you groped ahead mentally into the teeming void of unknowns that these transformations had engendered, the stronger your grip over yourself became.
  2807. 2807.
    >Seeing the differences between the griffon Chad and the quintessential man himself, from the unicorn Aisling to the girl who spent too much on books, and even the stallion Tam from that bubbly woman in those earlier days, that seemed now to have been years ago...
  2808. 2808.
    >It was not like setting one thing down to look at another, there wasn’t just; human, then ‘other’.
  2809. 2809.
    >A more suitable metaphor would be the act of staring into a prism struck through with light.
  2810. 2810.
    >Behold it at first and you’ll be dazzled with one end of the light’s wavelength, some shot of azure or shock of red.
  2811. 2811.
    >Twist it and suddenly green comes flying out.
  2812. 2812.
    >But the light passing through the prism has not been swapped out, it is just the prism’s position has changed.
  2813. 2813.
    >Though it has been warped and twisted around inside the glass, the light shines through, and it is still the same light that went in.
  2814. 2814.
    >A smile played on your lips.
  2815. 2815.
     
  2816. 2816.
    >Basically, griffon Chad was still a numbskull, just a feathery numbskull.
  2817. 2817.
    >Gently, you bumped the end of your muzzle against the sleek side of Chad’s beak.
  2818. 2818.
    >But what is that ‘light’ really?
  2819. 2819.
    >Your eyes were half lidded in a relaxed reverie as you mused,
  2820. 2820.
    “What are you?”
  2821. 2821.
    >Chad smiled and blinked, answering honestly,
  2822. 2822.
    >”I’ve never been a philosopher at least.”
  2823. 2823.
    >You yawned and felt your tail flop around as you stretched on reflex, reaching your hooves to the sides of your friend’s head.
  2824. 2824.
    >The little loose feathers around about his face swayed in the shifting air after you exhaled.
  2825. 2825.
    >There was still a dull pain in your chest, and the stretch teased it out a little stronger, but it was a comfortable ache.
  2826. 2826.
    >It made you feel like you were 13 again, staying home sick from school.
  2827. 2827.
    >Some of those times, you had found yourself celebrating internally when you woke up the next morning just sick enough to take another day off, this was exactly like that.
  2828. 2828.
    >You wanted to stay like this, almost forever, barring the tempting prospect of a warm shower.
  2829. 2829.
    >Eventually, when you were all carefully balled up just the way Chad had placed you before, you followed up on what you were saying earlier, asking,
  2830. 2830.
    “Yeah, but, I was just thinking that... Well, I think you still look like yourself. Do you know what I mean?”
  2831. 2831.
    >Those sharp golden eyes didn’t roll, and there was no irony in Chad’s voice when he answered.
  2832. 2832.
    >”I think so. For me, when I looked at you for the second time, I remember I thought: ‘Yeah, that’s what he would have to look like.’”
  2833. 2833.
    >The warmth of that honesty and sympathy glowed inside you, making you curl your legs into yourself.
  2834. 2834.
    “Same. Actually that sounds better than how I put it in my head.”
  2835. 2835.
    >”How did you put it?”
  2836. 2836.
    “It was kind of an overbearing metaphor about light through a prism...”
  2837. 2837.
    >Chad sighed, looking at you like he didn’t know just what to do with you.
  2838. 2838.
    >A stray sunbeam traced the smile around his beak in gold.
  2839. 2839.
    >Your tail batted softly against the sofa, stirred by that little joy you’d stocked up from his words.
  2840. 2840.
    >For a while longer, the two of you just rested quietly, not moving.
  2841. 2841.
    >Birds tittered and sang outside, Aisling’s hooves clopped upstairs, once in a while.
  2842. 2842.
    >You mulled over the soul with nothing to distract you, then there was a brief exchange between you and Chad, just about pleasant nothings like videogames.
  2843. 2843.
    >Eventually Aisling came back down from her room upstairs to set out some tea and a plate of homemade biscuits.
  2844. 2844.
    >Just the smell of the flour and the Earl Grey got you to laugh.
  2845. 2845.
    >Chad made something of a show of trying and failing to cleanly peck away at his crumbling biscuit.
  2846. 2846.
    >He couldn’t help but thrust his beak into it every so often like he was trying to pull out the innards of a rabbit.
  2847. 2847.
    >The first time he did it, you nearly fell off the couch laughing at his face full of exploded crumbs.
  2848. 2848.
    >While he fussed about that, Aisling taught you how to use magic to lift things.
  2849. 2849.
     
  2850. 2850.
    >At first you couldn’t even summon up the magic in your horn, and Aisling’s explanations of how she envisioned casting the spell just confused you.
  2851. 2851.
    >But once you’d understood that she was basically separating the tasks in her head, then doing them synchronously, you had a joyous flash of ingenuity, and your horn lit up with that strange black light your magic assumed.
  2852. 2852.
    >After five minutes of practice, you were floating teacups and food around with relative ease.
  2853. 2853.
    >You could twirl them in your grasp, spin them in the air like a top, float them up, sink them down and generally just place them wherever.
  2854. 2854.
    >But Aisling was clearly more precise and capable.
  2855. 2855.
    >”Watch...”
  2856. 2856.
    >She murmured, her eyes locked on your teacup.
  2857. 2857.
    >”I realized it’s all about how you make the magic ‘flow’. If you can get a better picture in your mind, of the magic moving, the level of control gets higher.”
  2858. 2858.
    >You watched her intently, while the griffon next to you indelicately munched away.
  2859. 2859.
    >A turquoise gleam gradually wound it’s way up the fine spiral of her horn, producing a faint hiss like a silken sheet falling to the floor.
  2860. 2860.
    >There was that same magic light sparking up from the pits of her pupils too.
  2861. 2861.
    >Little glints would start up, shine and then fizzle down in highly intricate geometric patterns.
  2862. 2862.
    >Finally, when her horn was fully lit, Aisling cast her spell.
  2863. 2863.
    >A single spark appeared in the bottom of your cup, drew the Fibonacci sequence, and fizzled away.
  2864. 2864.
    >You smiled a little regretfully at the failure, and turned your head aside to look at Aisling consolingly.
  2865. 2865.
    >But she was still utterly focused, and simply asked you to,
  2866. 2866.
    >”Look.”
  2867. 2867.
    >As you watched, the liquid tea floated up and away from the cup, with no clear signs of magic at all.
  2868. 2868.
    >Then, piece by piece, the entire contents of your teacup agglomerated together into one perfect brown and gleaming sphere.
  2869. 2869.
    >Aisling breathed softly, and the magic around her horn pulsed with a quiet rustling like bells over autumn leaves.
  2870. 2870.
    >In response, the ball of tea rippled, like a single drop had fallen into it.
  2871. 2871.
    >You couldn’t help but gape.
  2872. 2872.
    >The dusky unicorn’s horn sounded again, and this time the ball twisted, assuming the distinct and paradoxical shape of a Klein bottle.
  2873. 2873.
    “Holy shit...”
  2874. 2874.
    >”Damn.”
  2875. 2875.
    >Chad agreed.
  2876. 2876.
    >It was just a wondrous sight.
  2877. 2877.
    >Flowing in on itself, the Klein bottle melded back into a sphere, and Aisling gently began to put it back.
  2878. 2878.
    “Wow Aisling, that’s-
  2879. 2879.
    >Suddenly, Chad’s beak flashed out.
  2880. 2880.
    >He dipped the end of it into the ball and sucked nearly half of your tea away before you had the good sense to magically grab a pillow and start whacking him with it.
  2881. 2881.
    >All you got was one squawk, before he laughed maniacally.
  2882. 2882.
    >Aisling looked desperately like she wanted to giggle, but couldn’t for the need to maintain the spell.
  2883. 2883.
    >So you laughed for her, and Chad did his bit too, the tea thieving fuck.
  2884. 2884.
    >As soon as she’d gotten what was left back into your cup, she joined in.
  2885. 2885.
     
  2886. 2886.
    >The rest of the tea break was spent ribbing one another about the strange caveats that came with each other’s new form.
  2887. 2887.
    >Well really it was just you and Aisling ganging up on Chad to try and regain the lost ground from having no hands or physical strength.
  2888. 2888.
    >At the end of it all, you were feeling wholly yourself again, full of biscuits, jam and joy, so you decided it was time to take a shower.
  2889. 2889.
    >Chad stood up and patted you on the back after you said as much.
  2890. 2890.
    >”Not that it will do much.”
  2891. 2891.
    >It was lucky for him that you didn’t know where was the best spot on his body to kick him yet, so you just stored that comment in the repository of un-repaid favors.
  2892. 2892.
    >Smiling a little ruefully, Aisling shot you a look and said,
  2893. 2893.
    >”The tea-tree oil shampoo is what I use, and there’s a conditioner bar in there too.”
  2894. 2894.
    >Nodding gratefully back, you retired to the washroom, feeling a little unsteady on your feet.
  2895. 2895.
    >As soon as you got inside, you lowered your front end and started to slip out of your hoodie.
  2896. 2896.
     
  2897. 2897.
    >Anonymous wandered off into the bathroom, and you watched her go.
  2898. 2898.
    >Her walking pace was clearly slower than usual, and she was hesitant in finding her footing at times.
  2899. 2899.
    >She rounded the corner slowly, and her blonde tail flicked ‘round after her.
  2900. 2900.
    >Those new wings and that horn, frankly, looked awkward on Anon, but right now you knew you’d just be kicking her while she was down if you tried to tease her about it.
  2901. 2901.
    >...Maybe you could spin it into a compliment?
  2902. 2902.
    >Maybe not...
  2903. 2903.
    >You already felt enough like an idiot for letting her watch the fake news.
  2904. 2904.
    >From the very beginning when she had woken up just to scrape and apologize, it was obvious that she would take it bad.
  2905. 2905.
    >Regretfully, your mind went back to the forest last night, when you had Clapperleg at your mercy.
  2906. 2906.
    >Just a little deeper maybe, and none of this would have been an issue.
  2907. 2907.
    >Worse, if you had just flown back into the forest after dropping the girls off...
  2908. 2908.
    >You started up suddenly from your daze, drawing your eyes away from the floor.
  2909. 2909.
    >That had been a pointless hypothetical, clearly, there was no reason to entertain it.
  2910. 2910.
    >God only knows what would have happened if you’d actually left Aisling and Anon alone yesterday.
  2911. 2911.
    >Sighing, you licked raspberry jam off of your talons then swiftly snatched up the last biscuit before Aisling could wrap her magic around it.
  2912. 2912.
    >She stared at you with the most vehemence you’d ever seen in those eyes before, paired with an expression that was frighteningly cold and dry.
  2913. 2913.
    >Anger just wasn’t the word for it.
  2914. 2914.
    >Hatred, maybe, was appropriate.
  2915. 2915.
    >With a smug smile, you slowly lifted the baked good up and then dangled it over your gaping beak.
  2916. 2916.
    >You held that pose for maybe half a minute, never losing eye contact with the seething unicorn across from you.
  2917. 2917.
    >...Before relenting, and handing off the stolen item.
  2918. 2918.
    >Laughing good naturedly, Aisling promptly split the biscuit in half with you in a flash of magic, then said, around bites of her treat,
  2919. 2919.
    >”It’s... good. She’s... Ah, looking better.”
  2920. 2920.
     
  2921. 2921.
    ##Peer Pressure
  2922. 2922.
     
  2923. 2923.
    >You nodded slowly in response, pecking absentmindedly at your biscuit and staring indistinctly into Aisling’s chest.
  2924. 2924.
    >As soon as she spoke, that quiet moment with Anonymous had come barreling through your train of thought.
  2925. 2925.
    >That had been...
  2926. 2926.
    >Something like a black swan event, you realized, your own mental bank run, so to speak.
  2927. 2927.
    >When he was human, Anon’s words had always excited and grabbed at you, because through him you found that your own ideas held water.
  2928. 2928.
    >So you listened to everything he had to say and shared your most honest thoughts and sentiments with him.
  2929. 2929.
    >Anonymous was one of the only people like that for you in the whole world.
  2930. 2930.
    >Anonymous was your peer.
  2931. 2931.
    >His thoughts were on par with yours.
  2932. 2932.
    >Physically it had always been a bit of a mismatch but he held his own as a man.
  2933. 2933.
    >As a pony, and more distinctly, as a girl, the content of her thoughts hadn’t changed, but something in the delivery was different.
  2934. 2934.
    >There was probably a more precise word for it that she would use, but you’d settled on ‘softer’.
  2935. 2935.
    >At first it had been uncanny, you remembered that cigarette shivering moment in your dorm room, that first time you laid eyes on her and she’d spoken the code word without missing a beat.
  2936. 2936.
    >The mannerisms, translated down to that equine body, and remembered only because they stood out as strange.
  2937. 2937.
    >Subtle morphs and bends had slung themselves against your apprehensive mode of thinking.
  2938. 2938.
    >You’d been scared half out of your mind, and you only overcame it out of your sense of duty to protect your friend in distress.
  2939. 2939.
    >The trick you pulled on your stupid head to pull it off, was to play the role of: ‘protector’.
  2940. 2940.
    >You were softer on her, sometimes you just humored her when she spoke, oftentimes you had snubbed the people around her to keep her totally safe.
  2941. 2941.
    >Your beak clicked together unconsciously.
  2942. 2942.
    >You would never have done that shit before.
  2943. 2943.
    >But even as you rejected the sentiment, it still clung to you and you to it.
  2944. 2944.
    >The drive to protect was uncannily familiar, and you weren’t sure yet if that scared you more, or less.
  2945. 2945.
    >”What are you?” she had asked, and you had almost asked her the same.
  2946. 2946.
    >Were you getting acclimated to her transformation, or yours?
  2947. 2947.
    >At least you knew that what scared you most was that one day you might think nothing of these things.
  2948. 2948.
    >Anonymous would just be Anonymous, the pony.
  2949. 2949.
    >Habit would erode all the blocks you threw in the way eventually.
  2950. 2950.
    >It seemed already to have worn her down some, she had transformed much earlier than you after all.
  2951. 2951.
    >A rough sigh rattled down your throat as you thought of something even more worrisome: that one day soon, you might look back on a memory with her as a pony and yourself as a griffon, and feel more fondly for it than the ones from when you were both human.
  2952. 2952.
    >Earlier on the couch, when you whispered in Anonymous’ ear, and by doing so made that memory dearer in both of your minds, was when the ghost of that possibility had first laid its cold hand on your shoulder.
  2953. 2953.
     
  2954. 2954.
    >In the background, the hiss of the shower and the whirring fan in the bathroom resonated.
  2955. 2955.
    >Your eyes were still locked on the undifferentiated blackness of Aisling’s fur.
  2956. 2956.
    >The relationship you had with Anonymous, as Keyboard Masher, was not like before.
  2957. 2957.
    >She was not your peer.
  2958. 2958.
    >Just a while ago, you knew that you would have found that thought unthinkable.
  2959. 2959.
    >But now it was undeniable, neither of you acted that way anymore, just as you looked a little down at her, she looked a little up at you.
  2960. 2960.
    >A piercingly clear thought struck you as you realized that.
  2961. 2961.
    >Anonymous still had her honor, but it had morphed into such a different shape it pained you as if she’d lost it.
  2962. 2962.
    >She held her own as a pony, not a man.
  2963. 2963.
    >It had all started when you saw her typing clumsily on a laptop atop your bed, with pens strapped to her hooves, looking too fucking cute for her own good.
  2964. 2964.
    >The memory reeled past your mind’s eye like an old family 8mm tape on a projector.
  2965. 2965.
    >Anon laid there on the soft sheets, her pen equipped hooves pecking away at the laptop nestled between her forelegs.
  2966. 2966.
    >Her mane was a natural ribbon of gold falling in a wave from her head, never really straight, and actually a bit of a mess from all the tumbling around she’d done before meeting up with you.
  2967. 2967.
    >It immediately reminded you of the one time a girl had been in your bedroom, back in high school.
  2968. 2968.
    >She’d had messy hair too, red though, with more lascivious intentions compared to Anonymous.
  2969. 2969.
    >The pony rolled her body so that she laid on her side, and breathed deeply while she went about proofreading her essay.
  2970. 2970.
    >Anon’s fur was short, and white as linen.
  2971. 2971.
    >You reached out to touch it, and passing your hand over it had a similar feeling to duvet.
  2972. 2972.
    >But in places like her chest and the nape of her neck, you noted with gentle fingers, it was fluffy.
  2973. 2973.
    >...Anonymou-
  2974. 2974.
    >You blinked and flicked your gaze to the window.
  2975. 2975.
    >A cardinal blitzed past when it saw your upturned face, but you could still track it precisely with your eyes and count each ruby red feather.
  2976. 2976.
    >Now that you had the personal experience of having wings, you could appreciate how well the teensy sprite moved.
  2977. 2977.
    >He bent his wingtips so subtly, catching the smallest updraft to send himself wheeling in an upward arc to the tree across the lawn.
  2978. 2978.
    >But it all seemed in vain, when in your head you could draw the perfect line to fly along and snatch him out of the air.
  2979. 2979.
    >The desire to really do it pestered you in the background, a subtle itch.
  2980. 2980.
    >You sighed, and then you abruptly intoned,
  2981. 2981.
    “She’s had too much pressure put on her. I don’t want to see her get like me, anxious, it’s a fucking cancer.”
  2982. 2982.
    >That was deadly ironic, right back to protecting again huh?
  2983. 2983.
    >You felt your heart pump one solitary note of building frustration with yourself.
  2984. 2984.
    >Letting your relationship with Anonymous get twisted any further was a loss you couldn’t abide.
  2985. 2985.
    >But at the same time... she really did need your help right?
  2986. 2986.
     
  2987. 2987.
    >Aisling nodded her head as she took the last sip of her tea, agreeing, but looking so collected it made you wonder which part of your sentiment she was agreeing with.
  2988. 2988.
    >”We kill Cichol, and it’s over. All the gnome’s magic will be undone.”
  2989. 2989.
    >Your eyes widened at her sudden remark, and a hopeful smile resolved itself on your face.
  2990. 2990.
    >With vim and vigor you swept away all the useless, probably Fed voice-to-skull planted thoughts from your head and brashly spouted,
  2991. 2991.
    “Well, I went for the kill as soon as I could. But I’ll be honest I wasn’t really thinking of it as the ‘best’ solution.”
  2992. 2992.
    >A tricky smile danced on Aisling’s lips, and she looked at you askance.
  2993. 2993.
    >”I was digging through some books while I was upstairs, just refreshing my memory of the myths relating to the Fomorians.”
  2994. 2994.
    >The knowledgeable unicorn started.
  2995. 2995.
    >You shuffled in closer on the couch, flexing your wings to get comfortable while she continued,
  2996. 2996.
    >”The accounts are conflicting, but, interpreting the texts, I think that whenever their leader is killed, they disappear off the face of the earth.”
  2997. 2997.
    “Didn’t that never happen though? Clapperleg was supposed to have been killed by that... pancake guy or whatever. But they’re all here anyway, along with him.”
  2998. 2998.
    >Aisling nodded, smiling.
  2999. 2999.
    >”That’s just it, they’re back. It’s not that they’ve just been around all the time, all THIS time. There are several instances in Celtic myth where they are defeated and all their dominion vanishes. So, logically that must mean they come back.”
  3000. 3000.
    >You grasped at your beak with a claw, beginning to understand.
  3001. 3001.
    >Again, thank fuck you had weird friends.
  3002. 3002.
    >People into this kind of stuff were about one in a trillion these days, common core had thoroughly squashed the kind of light people got in their eyes for it.
  3003. 3003.
    >Aisling looked up into your face, softly glowing with just that light and excitement you meant, but calmly waiting for an answer.
  3004. 3004.
    “Alright, makes enough sense, in that nonsense faerie way that things have to make sense in since last night. Let me think about it for a sec.”
  3005. 3005.
    >The mare clacked her fore hooves together approvingly, while inside you crunched the logistics for gnome slaughter.
  3006. 3006.
    >Have to be during the day.
  3007. 3007.
    >Have to be done with steel or iron.
  3008. 3008.
    >Have to have friends to watch your back.
  3009. 3009.
    >Have to find the gnomes.
  3010. 3010.
    >Have to kill them quick.
  3011. 3011.
    >...Girls like to stay clean.
  3012. 3012.
    >In the vein of an analog computer, you printed the answer out, as fast as the physical limitations of your brain would allow.
  3013. 3013.
    “That’s a farm next door right? Do they have guns?”
  3014. 3014.
    >”Yes, they’d probably let us borrow some too. I think a newly minted family of ponies would be willing to listen to a story about maleficent gnomes hiding out in the forest, from a griffon and two unicorns.”
  3015. 3015.
    >Aisling didn’t even miss a beat.
  3016. 3016.
    >She smiled at you thinly, like a paid dealer handing you a four of a kind, while she reached over and stole the last of your tea.
  3017. 3017.
    >You rubbed your hands together, and licked the edges of your beak clean of jam.
  3018. 3018.
     
  3019. 3019.
    >She had no qualms about killing them, no qualms about firearms either, and it was safe to assume Anonymous was the same, from that conversation over breakfast.
  3020. 3020.
    >You looked over Aisling’s head, at the clock on the stove.
  3021. 3021.
    >1100.
  3022. 3022.
    >Daylight, check, friends, check.
  3023. 3023.
    >Third of the way there already.
  3024. 3024.
    >You grinned, and felt the thrill of endorphins rushing through your powerful body.
  3025. 3025.
    >In a clear, authoritative tone, you said,
  3026. 3026.
    “We’ll leave after you get cleaned up. Then you and Anonymous can get all our gear ready while I scope the woods out. We’ll have lunch, then aim for an assault no later than 1500 hours.”
  3027. 3027.
    >It was a conscious effort to stop yourself from digging your talons into the sofa.
  3028. 3028.
    >You could feel the claws inside your paws slipping in and out as you tensed and relaxed all your muscles in anticipatory excitement.
  3029. 3029.
    >Your tail whipped against the cushions.
  3030. 3030.
    >”Chad, you’re purring.”
  3031. 3031.
    >Aisling quietly uttered, her little smile veiled behind a dusky foreleg.
  3032. 3032.
    >You blinked in surprise, and listened.
  3033. 3033.
    >Nothing.
  3034. 3034.
    >Instantly your face twisted into a sarcastic grimace, and you reached out with all claws to make the biggest tangle of Aisling’s mane that you could manage.
  3035. 3035.
    >But she ducked away, sliding off of the couch like water, while giggling.
  3036. 3036.
    >You opted not to follow, and she just danced her way back into the kitchen, magically carrying all the dishes in tow.
  3037. 3037.
    >Instead, you reached over to where Aisling had been sitting and grabbed the remote.
  3038. 3038.
    >More from a passing curiosity than from feeling some need to get additional information, you flicked the TV back on.
  3039. 3039.
    >Instantly the scene made your gut wrench and twist before kicking out an ironic guffaw.
  3040. 3040.
    >There was a ‘human’ on screen.
  3041. 3041.
    >Of course, it was some delegate from the UN, come to inspect how the nation was handling the newly dubbed “Pon-E-vent”.
  3042. 3042.
    “I’m always fucking right. Always...”
  3043. 3043.
    >You spat under your breath.
  3044. 3044.
    “Shapeshifters.”
  3045. 3045.
    >Just once you wanted the motivation behind some economic disaster to be only greed, or for there to be a perfectly logical paper trail of private interests that didn’t dovetail into ritualistic child sacrifice.
  3046. 3046.
    >”What? What’s up?”
  3047. 3047.
    >Aisling exclaimed from the kitchen, peeking her head up from the dishwasher.
  3048. 3048.
    >Laughing again, you slung back in your seat, laid your paws to rest on the coffee table and your arm on the back of the sofa, then looked her straight in the face with a smug smile and answered,
  3049. 3049.
    “Oh you didn’t get the memo?”
  3050. 3050.
    >You waved some talons at the screen.
  3051. 3051.
    >Aisling rolled her eyes at you from over the countertop, before hopping down and trotting around to see what you were talking about.
  3052. 3052.
    >As soon as her eyes met the screen, and saw the ugly, paunchy looking politician there, her delicate brow furrowed.
  3053. 3053.
    >A single silver hair off her mane went astray.
  3054. 3054.
    >Then for the first time, you heard Aisling curse.
  3055. 3055.
    >”What in damnation is that supposed to be?”
  3056. 3056.
    >She whipped her head around at you, frowning deeper.
  3057. 3057.
    >”Every human should be a pony right? What?”
  3058. 3058.
     
  3059. 3059.
    ##Back of his mind
  3060. 3060.
     
  3061. 3061.
    >Your smile grew ten sizes, and you lifted up your claws to make airquotes.
  3062. 3062.
    “””A human.”””
  3063. 3063.
    >Aisling sighed and shook her head, before turning back to the television.
  3064. 3064.
    >On screen, the “””human””” was receiving an oddly old looking, wax sealed scroll from the mouth of the pony prime minister.
  3065. 3065.
    >It symbolized the nation’s statement of intent: to follow in lockstep with UN proposals for the duration of the emergency.
  3066. 3066.
    >Most of the nation’s politicians on screen were ponies, which surprised you greatly, especially since all of the reps from the UN, along with a few feds with ‘certain’ citizenship ‘situations’ seemed to have magically avoided the fate that befell humanity.
  3067. 3067.
    >This made it unlikely that the ponies were just stand-ins, if that were the case then they should have just replaced everyone and kept the populace under the illusion that they were all human.
  3068. 3068.
    >You wondered if they were changelings or if Icke was right.
  3069. 3069.
    >Hell could be both.
  3070. 3070.
    >The thoughts kept flowing, the next step must be faking a few remaining pockets of human-
  3071. 3071.
    >”WHAT IN THE FUCK.”
  3072. 3072.
    >Your eyes snapped right.
  3073. 3073.
    >Anonymous was back and already looking thoroughly de-relaxed after her shower.
  3074. 3074.
    >With her fur still damp, and a towel wrapped around her head, she goggled at the screen in disbelief, her hooves planted wide and her wings spread aggressively behind her head.
  3075. 3075.
    >”WHY DO THEY GET TO BE HUMAN???? WHAT.”
  3076. 3076.
    >She turned to Aisling first, who simply shrugged, and you repeated the gesture, still smiling while you focused your gaze on the television again.
  3077. 3077.
    >Ohh what a treat.
  3078. 3078.
    >You were on the edge of your seat, with your tail twisting up and batting around behind you like a cat’s might.
  3079. 3079.
    >There was one particular delegate that caught your eye, just as “””human””” as he could look, with the most transparent smirk of duper’s delight that you’d ever seen.
  3080. 3080.
    >For a few seconds he aimed it straight into the camera.
  3081. 3081.
    >You smirked right back at him, and half entertained the thought of paying him a visit later.
  3082. 3082.
    >It would just be a body double anyway...
  3083. 3083.
    >More formalities were walked through, and some new platitudes were rolled out.
  3084. 3084.
    >The prepared words for the crisis seemed to be ‘transitioning’, ‘returning’, ‘on-ramping‘. ‘off-ramping’ and ‘changing pace’.
  3085. 3085.
    >In particular, the key phrase ‘re-factoring infrastructure to meet new requirements’, was uttered in several different ways.
  3086. 3086.
    >As the action on screen began to wind down, and states-ponies featured more prominently, Aisling started off to the washroom, sighing and magically flattening her mane out again.
  3087. 3087.
    >Her silver tail glimmered ‘round the corner, then you heard the door shut.
  3088. 3088.
    >Anonymous still stood there and gawked, her wings slowly drooping at her sides.
  3089. 3089.
    >Her tail was dripping wet still, lying limply at her back.
  3090. 3090.
    >It had been so long since something this juicy had appeared on live TV.
  3091. 3091.
    >This was better than Clinton collapsing into a car, better than Dave Dave, better than... fuck, anything.
  3092. 3092.
     
  3093. 3093.
    >Staring doggedly at the television, you reached for the remote again and flicked the channel.
  3094. 3094.
    >”Hey!”
  3095. 3095.
    >Anon protested.
  3096. 3096.
    “Who else.”
  3097. 3097.
    >You uttered simply, not looking at her while you swapped to an American station.
  3098. 3098.
    >You took her silence as assent.
  3099. 3099.
    >The CEO of a certain large social media company was being interviewed on how his platform would change, he was “””human””” of course.
  3100. 3100.
    >After having waned some, your crooked grin was back.
  3101. 3101.
    >That key phrase came tumbling out of the freak’s mouth, this time in the form of ‘...the plan is a sort of easing down, re-factoring our service, then transitioning out of the previous paradigm to meet these new requirements...’
  3102. 3102.
    >Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Anonymous watching your expression with exasperation.
  3103. 3103.
    >You really had to wonder what these things were.
  3104. 3104.
    >Your first thought had been changelings, though it didn’t add up, if they were changelings then you of all people would have seen at least one before PON-E.
  3105. 3105.
    >Instead, your first sighting had been just a while ago, when the city was already crawling with them.
  3106. 3106.
    >There was no reason for the gnomes to want changelings and the C4NG3 drug that produced them around either, it went contrary to their motives.
  3107. 3107.
    >So there were competing interests in this intrigue?
  3108. 3108.
    “Reptilians...”
  3109. 3109.
    >You mused.
  3110. 3110.
    >If so, it was remarkable that you and Anonymous had just happened to get caught up in the thick of it.
  3111. 3111.
    >The last time you’d been in the middle of a mess like this was that counteroffensive in the ancient city, when you were the gofer with Gideon’s crew out west.
  3112. 3112.
    >A shiver passed through your whole body, ending at the tip of your bottlebrush tail, when your thoughts just skimmed the memory of what you’d seen in the drained poolrooms of that chthonic complex, carved in the bedrock.
  3113. 3113.
    >You swiftly flashed through the news channels and took an approximate tally of what you were tentatively referring to as reptilians.
  3114. 3114.
    >It seemed maybe a third of celebrities were not human after all.
  3115. 3115.
    >But there had been a few surprises, like Ellen appearing as a pegasus stallion, and the whole cast of The View being ponies.
  3116. 3116.
    >All of the news casters were ponies, no matter how popular.
  3117. 3117.
    >The filter, besides Freemasonry, seemed to be net worth.
  3118. 3118.
    >Past a billion, it was practically all “””human”””.
  3119. 3119.
    >Especially in tech, there wasn’t a single one them who had been ponified.
  3120. 3120.
    >The fact that you could check it all so quickly just flicking through the channels like this made it pretty obvious that this was intentional.
  3121. 3121.
    >They really were gloating.
  3122. 3122.
    >You laughed, nibbling at the end of one of your talons.
  3123. 3123.
    >Then you switched off the television, feeling just as sick of it as you were entertained by it.
  3124. 3124.
    >What was more important than this ‘who’s what’ crap was that key phrase, and the language they were throwing around.
  3125. 3125.
    >The tone was all ‘phasing out’, ‘toning down’, ‘slowing’.
  3126. 3126.
    >Wh-
  3127. 3127.
    >”Why do you have to be right?”
  3128. 3128.
    >You locked eyes with Anonymous.
  3129. 3129.
     
  3130. 3130.
    >She appeared to be at the end of her rope, enough so that it struck you with a pang of frustration, thinking about how you’d just brought her down from that panic attack earlier.
  3131. 3131.
    >Sounding bitter, she asked,
  3132. 3132.
    >”They’re not human right? None of them are.”
  3133. 3133.
    >There was a hint in her eye, that told you to answer seriously.
  3134. 3134.
    >So you sat up properly, at least as properly as a griffon could, and answered,
  3135. 3135.
    “Yeah. My best guess is they’re reptilians. They’ll probably fake their way out and say some small pockets of humans around the world avoided being transformed. Then produce footage of these ‘people’.”
  3136. 3136.
    >”Why?”
  3137. 3137.
    >You stared down at your talons, interlocking and unlocking them again as you slipped into deep thought.
  3138. 3138.
    >...This conversation made you want to reach for a cigarette you just didn’t have.
  3139. 3139.
    >Everything that was to come out of your mouth next was the wrong thing to tell Anonymous.
  3140. 3140.
    >None of it was going to help her any, or you.
  3141. 3141.
    >It was a senseless knowledge that only served to increase your anxieties, and you were about to give it to her like a poison.
  3142. 3142.
    >You may as well jump over and peck at her fetlocks for an hour, for how productive this was going to be.
  3143. 3143.
    >But her eyes brooked no euphemisms or denial, and if you denied her that right then you felt like you would be treating her even less like a peer.
  3144. 3144.
    >So you pressed on, meeting Anon’s blue eyes directly.
  3145. 3145.
    >You felt a grim determination settle over you as your brain retraced thoughtpaths you’d walked bare, many years ago.
  3146. 3146.
    “They’re doing it to keep the masses placated before they announce they’re leaving for space. This is one variation on their fallback plan in case of some global upheaval. I imagine in this case they’ll say PON-E has completely tainted the water and so they’re leaving Earth to preserve the human race. Really they’ll just be in bunkers.”
  3147. 3147.
    >”Really I-”
  3148. 3148.
    “Because space is fake and gay.”
  3149. 3149.
    >You added, pedantically.
  3150. 3150.
    >Anonymous lowered her head, pressed her lips together and glowered straight down her muzzle at you, prompting you to at least look a little apologetic while you finished,
  3151. 3151.
    “I was thinking the same thing by the way, about being right. Wish it would stop. Seriously.”
  3152. 3152.
    >She looked like she wanted to protest some of what you’d said, but after a few seconds of intense staring, your friend just heaved out a long sigh, and shook her head as she unraveled the towel from her mane.
  3153. 3153.
    >Water droplets beaded from her neck down onto her back, and if you looked close enough, you felt you could see the needless weight you’d laid on there too.
  3154. 3154.
    >Casting a simple spell, Anonymous started patting down her wet tail with the towel and stated,
  3155. 3155.
    >”Sometimes I think ‘they’ just wait for you to think something up, and then do that. You should try filing a patent next time you have an idea for making this dystopia any worse, they seem to respect copyright law at least.”
  3156. 3156.
     
  3157. 3157.
    >You laughed and lolled onto your back to stretch your legs, poking out each hidden claw in your paws one by one, then countered with,
  3158. 3158.
    “But then nothing would happen, we’d just be frozen in the middle.”
  3159. 3159.
    >She rolled her eyes, when a flash of inspiration suddenly lit up her face.
  3160. 3160.
    >You watched curiously, expecting a spell.
  3161. 3161.
    >After setting her towel aside, Anonymous stood with all her legs spread evenly.
  3162. 3162.
    >She breathed in deep, shut her eyes, and lit her horn black.
  3163. 3163.
    >It was quiet, then there was the rushing sound of wind against a rockface, and all her fur was blown up on end as if she was standing under the exit of a carwash.
  3164. 3164.
    >Anonymous’ platinum coil of a mane twirled around and around along with her tail, visibly becoming wavier and wavier.
  3165. 3165.
    >She stood there like she was in the eye of a typhoon, her cheeks all puffed up and her eyes shut tight against the wind.
  3166. 3166.
    >You couldn’t help but laugh, even though you pictured getting a hoof to the head for it.
  3167. 3167.
    >At the end of all the enchanted blow drying, she looked like a marshmallow with peeps stuck to both ends.
  3168. 3168.
    >She was dry though.
  3169. 3169.
    >You whistled and smiled.
  3170. 3170.
    >Grumbling some curse in response that you couldn’t understand through all the puff, Anonymous shook herself like a dog and set about flattening everything down, obviously not confident in her control to try and use magic to fix it.
  3171. 3171.
    >You slid off the couch and started to help.
  3172. 3172.
    “Your mane’s gotten longer.”
  3173. 3173.
    >You said, as you threaded your talons through it, teasing it back into position around her black horn.
  3174. 3174.
    >From under all that hair, your friend’s muffled voice answered,
  3175. 3175.
    >”Believe me I’ve noticed. Should just chop it off up to my temples.”
  3176. 3176.
    >It relieved you to hear her talk like that, but at the same time-
  3177. 3177.
    “Nah, you don’t need to.”
  3178. 3178.
    >The words just came right out of your mouth, without you really thinking about it.
  3179. 3179.
    >For a second, you’d caught yourself off guard.
  3180. 3180.
    >Anonymous turned her head up to look at you straight, and confusion played on her bright blue eyes, between locks of her golden hair, as she asked you her favorite question,
  3181. 3181.
    >”Why?”
  3182. 3182.
    >You clamped your beak on your tongue and looked away, at the corner of the ceiling to your right.
  3183. 3183.
    “Uhh...”
  3184. 3184.
    >You started..?
  3185. 3185.
    >What the fuck?
  3186. 3186.
    >You thought you’d gotten over these small fry issues by now, it had been so long since she’d become a pony after all.
  3187. 3187.
    >Your gaze swapped left, but your field of view was still so big you could see Anonymous’ stare starting to trend towards discerning your thoughts.
  3188. 3188.
    “...Well we’re gonna fix all this anyway, soon...”
  3189. 3189.
    >You deflected, lamely.
  3190. 3190.
    >Stupid fucking answer, should have just said it looked nice, you’d never gotten tripped up like that in forever.
  3191. 3191.
    >To keep busy, you kept working your talons over her mane like a comb, avoiding her eyes.
  3192. 3192.
    >Anonymous still eyed you up though, looking bemused.
  3193. 3193.
    >But in the end she seemed to be more preoccupied with getting the rest of her fur down, so the thread of conversation was dropped.
  3194. 3194.
     
  3195. 3195.
    >Letting out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding, you finished the last bit of her hair and stepped back to appreciate it.
  3196. 3196.
    >Looked a lot cleaner than the first day you met her.
  3197. 3197.
    >Anonymous checked herself over, and her mane tumbled round her head like a billowing flag.
  3198. 3198.
    >Her fur was a splendid white again, with that broken keyboard mark standing out as a proud crest on her flank.
  3199. 3199.
    >Each little hoof clopped in turn, and her tail flicked from side to side.
  3200. 3200.
    >Yeah, Anonymous was cute.
  3201. 3201.
    >Though those wings and that horn still just didn’t sit right with you.
  3202. 3202.
    >She flexed the new appendages on her back slowly, and mouthed a few stray feathers into place while you watched.
  3203. 3203.
    >There were more white than black feathers in them now, though the black ones seemed to be persistent around the edges of her wings.
  3204. 3204.
    >Her horn caught the light, and there was a subtle spiral of white in it that you hadn’t noticed earlier.
  3205. 3205.
    >So they were changing color too, probably because of some gnomish nonsense you’d have to read twenty books not even about gnomes to understand.
  3206. 3206.
    >You frowned a little.
  3207. 3207.
    >All this extra shit just reinforced the fact that they were too fantastical, and more suited to someone like Aisling, the Anonymous you knew was more humble than that.
  3208. 3208.
    >As a man he’d had the mind of a scholar and the wisdom of a carpenter.
  3209. 3209.
    >As a girl you’d say something like; the manners of a milkmaid and the features of a secretary?
  3210. 3210.
    >But these new features were sort of... rich?
  3211. 3211.
    >You were swinging well out of reach of the limit of your vocabulary at this point, and using a lot of borrowed words you’d heard Anonymous say first, so you cut that train of thought.
  3212. 3212.
    >Setting a claw under your beak, you narrowed your eyes and muttered, just loud enough for Anonymous to hear,
  3213. 3213.
    “Like painting a crown into a pastoral...”
  3214. 3214.
    >Her ears perked, and her cheeks puffed up again like an angry fish.
  3215. 3215.
    >Anonymous really was your friend because she could catch on as quick as that.
  3216. 3216.
    >In a curt tone she rebuffed you,
  3217. 3217.
    >”Shut up sperg.”
  3218. 3218.
    >Then she started batting you around the head with her piano wings.
  3219. 3219.
    >With each swing came a word.
  3220. 3220.
    >“Since. When. Did. You. Appreciate. Art. Enough. To. Make. A. Reference. Like. That?”
  3221. 3221.
    >You smiled and enjoyed the feeling, answering simply,
  3222. 3222.
    “Had to take a bird course on classical poetry.”
  3223. 3223.
    >Eventually she was smiling too, so the beating stopped.
  3224. 3224.
    >With an honest look on her face, Anonymous stretched out one of her wings and stared at it and you curiously, asking,
  3225. 3225.
    >”You’re really not a fan of them?”
  3226. 3226.
    >You sat back on your haunches and nodded, already ready with a trimmed, honest answer from your thinking about it earlier.
  3227. 3227.
    “Yeah it’s cramping your style, maybe just the horn would work. I mean magic is pretty nice... But I dunno, your appeal is simple cuteness, this over-complicates things.”
  3228. 3228.
    >The regret for being even a little honest struck you with every word you spoke.
  3229. 3229.
    >Anon’s eyes narrowed in response, and her smile became more foxy than frank.
  3230. 3230.
     
  3231. 3231.
    >She sat down too, mirroring your posture.
  3232. 3232.
    >Then with the sort of precision that was reserved for ballistics, she selected and fired a penetrating remark, straight at your heart.
  3233. 3233.
    >”You’ve really thought about this huh?”
  3234. 3234.
    >It was impossible to stop your wings ruffling on reflex, but you cleared your throat and puffed out the feathers on your chest to distract her with exaggerated bravado.
  3235. 3235.
    >Quickly, you answered,
  3236. 3236.
    “Sure. Aesthetic taste is the mark of the quintessential Western man.”
  3237. 3237.
    >Anonymous stifled a giggle and held her response for a few seconds, letting you simmer there.
  3238. 3238.
    >Your heart was beating faster, but you managed to keep your tail still at least.
  3239. 3239.
    >You met her gaze easily.
  3240. 3240.
    >...Her heart-rate was frighteningly placid.
  3241. 3241.
    >But eventually Anonymous just let loose with a free and easy laugh.
  3242. 3242.
    >She pulled her wing back in, before poking you in the chest with a hoof and whispering up at your face,
  3243. 3243.
    >”Bird brain.”
  3244. 3244.
    >Then, beaming brightly, she suddenly asked,
  3245. 3245.
    >”So what’s the plan?”
  3246. 3246.
     
  3247. 3247.
    ##Semantics
  3248. 3248.
     
  3249. 3249.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqFpbo_K2Eg
  3250. 3250.
    Raflum - 林泉吟​/​Melodies Of Forest And Springs
  3251. 3251.
    >Your chest deflated and you regained your bearings.
  3252. 3252.
    >With a nostalgic ‘standard ops’ bent to your voice, you laid it all out for your friend while walking back to the couch with her.
  3253. 3253.
    “Once Aisling gets out of the shower, we’re going to the neighbour’s place to get guns. Then I’ll be scouting out the woods while you two get geared up. After that we break for lunch and we’ll attack the gnomes by 1500.”
  3254. 3254.
    >Anonymous nodded, totally resolute, and performed a salute with her right wing that you instantly emulated.
  3255. 3255.
    >”Hoorah.”
  3256. 3256.
    “Hoorah.”
  3257. 3257.
    >As soon as the salute was over, her steadfast expression transformed into an exasperated frown, and while her eyes searched your hawkish face, she inquired,
  3258. 3258.
    >”As if. Attack? What the hell are we actually gonna do?”
  3259. 3259.
    >You grinned and laid an arm around her withers.
  3260. 3260.
    “Kill Clapperleg.”
  3261. 3261.
    >Anonymous’ long face peered peevishly up at you still, her muzzle scrunching as she pressed,
  3262. 3262.
    >”Why? I mean I get ‘why’, but how is that going to fix anything?”
  3263. 3263.
    >Free and easy, you explained Aisling’s theory to Anon, still in high morale.
  3264. 3264.
    >But her expression was only ever quizzical at best.
  3265. 3265.
    >By the time you had finished, she had turned her face away from you and her eyes were lidded in deep thought.
  3266. 3266.
    >Your tail curled around and softly batted against the sofa, just once, as you let the little pony slip naturally away from your grasp.
  3267. 3267.
    >A sigh escaped your beak.
  3268. 3268.
    >You weren’t liking the way this was going.
  3269. 3269.
    >Things would be so much better if all it took was military action.
  3270. 3270.
    >At the back of your mind though, a venomous little thought spat back at you: Just one more regretful slaughterhouse scene right?
  3271. 3271.
    >”I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.”
  3272. 3272.
    >Anonymous answered softly.
  3273. 3273.
    >You sighed again and slouched into the cushions, eyeing her thoughtful face sidelong.
  3274. 3274.
    >She stared at you straight and continued,
  3275. 3275.
    >”Aisling is probably right about them all disappearing whenever Cichol is killed, but I don’t think that will actually fix the pony problem.”
  3276. 3276.
    “Why?”
  3277. 3277.
    >You prompted, already feeling resigned.
  3278. 3278.
    >”Partoloin and his people all died of a plague shortly after defeating the Fomorians.”
  3279. 3279.
    >The picture was pretty clear to you just from that statement alone, but Anonymous kept going.
  3280. 3280.
    >”Cichol was probably the cause of that, having met him in person it would make total sense for that demon to have contingency plans. I don’t think the Fomorians were making PON-E themselves this whole time, my best guess is they formulated it with magic, then made a deal to get humans to produce it for them. That way, even if PON-E is magic, it’s so abstracted from them at this point that killing Cichol won’t change everyone back.”
  3281. 3281.
    >Anonymous appeared completely certain of what she was saying, but it sounded like she was apologizing to you.
  3282. 3282.
    >She was even stroking your back with her hoof.
  3283. 3283.
    >You nodded regretfully at her, staring down at your clasped claws.
  3284. 3284.
     
  3285. 3285.
    >Maybe the reason you’d latched onto getting a gun and killing Clapperleg so quickly was because you were feeling out of loop from all this mythical theory crafting.
  3286. 3286.
    >Your talons clenched as if around a trigger.
  3287. 3287.
    >You could do with the familiar feeling of a bolt action slide, and the nostalgic kick of a rifle butt against your shoulder.
  3288. 3288.
    >”I thought so too.”
  3289. 3289.
    >A gentle contralto emanated from across the room.
  3290. 3290.
    >Aisling stood there, her mane and tail silently flowing beside her.
  3291. 3291.
    >Her fur looked blacker than black, darker than night, even in a setting as mundane as this.
  3292. 3292.
    >The night mare’s silver mane looked positively celestial, undulating like it was caught in an electromagnetic pulse, glistening with pearls of water that were here this moment and gone the next.
  3293. 3293.
    >Unicorns must have been real, you suddenly thought, a sight like this didn’t just arise from some coincidence of drugs and a time in history.
  3294. 3294.
    >Anonymous’ eyes narrowed at her, probably because of the spell, which was clearly a refined version of her own botched drying magic from earlier, rather than at the statement Aisling had made.
  3295. 3295.
    >The dusky unicorn continued,
  3296. 3296.
    >”But it still remains true that their dominion vanishes with them whenever Cichol is killed, and magic is typically counted as part of that ‘rule’ in most accounts of it.”
  3297. 3297.
    >Ahhhhhh... Moooooorrrrre myyyyyyth...
  3298. 3298.
    >You shut your eyes and promptly melted into the couch, trying to suppress your pent up feelings from all the inaction.
  3299. 3299.
    >Both unicorns delved into a swift back and forth, dropping names and dates and titles and you could have sworn a flat out homebrewed DnD ruleset at one point, as they established the information they were dredging from.
  3300. 3300.
    >They were better to be around than fluoridated sportsballers sure, but how either of these two had found the time to go outside and make other friends besides you, between stuffing their heads into books, you didn’t know anymore.
  3301. 3301.
    >Once both bookworms had established they were speaking from similar sources, your long time friend cut ahead in the conversation, as she was often wont to, flatly saying,
  3302. 3302.
    >”So you’re talking about how Cichol was the one who cast the spell that reversed the effects of PON-E, since I couldn’t cast it myself.”
  3303. 3303.
    >Aisling didn’t answer right away, you could just hear the soft rustling of her mane against her neck, and her hooves clopping closer.
  3304. 3304.
    >There came the sound of wood creaking as she hopped up on the divan besides you, and then her voice again,
  3305. 3305.
    >”No, I know that’s a dead end. Changing the effects is what made people turn into ponies after all, not the spell itself. I’m talking about the spell they cast to make PON-E work in the first place.”
  3306. 3306.
    >You heard a sharp intake of breath from Anonymous, and took that as your cue to get interested in the conversation again.
  3307. 3307.
     
  3308. 3308.
    >Opening your eyes, you sat up, leaned over the table with your claws interlaced, and intoned, without looking at either pony,
  3309. 3309.
    “So it’s like when rabbis mumble some words over a vat of Coca-Cola and it’s suddenly all kosher?”
  3310. 3310.
    >Immediately after speaking, you laughed, not at your lame joke, but at the contrast of your clunky, deep voice against the two mares’ dulcet tones.
  3311. 3311.
    >Anonymous and Aisling both looked thoroughly un-amused with you.
  3312. 3312.
    >Their ears were pinned back, and their eyes gleamed down their muzzles at you with unrequited violence.
  3313. 3313.
    >You just threw up your claws apologetically and went back to lying down.
  3314. 3314.
    >The white unicorn pointed her gaze at the black one and picked up the conversation again.
  3315. 3315.
    >”Being the product of a spell they cast, the implication is that PON-E and its magically induced effects will disappear with them.”
  3316. 3316.
    >Aisling nodded.
  3317. 3317.
    >”Exactly.”
  3318. 3318.
    >But Anonymous still looked as unconvinced as before.
  3319. 3319.
    >As she responded, she tapped the end of her hoof against the coffee table for emphasis.
  3320. 3320.
    >”No, I don’t agree. I don’t think it will work retroactively that way. I think the magic is in the drug coming into existence, not the drug working.”
  3321. 3321.
    >Alright you had to add SOMETHING.
  3322. 3322.
    “Isn’t this just semantics though?”
  3323. 3323.
    >You proposed, watching both of the girls’ expressions.
  3324. 3324.
    >The two mares looked you straight in the face, un-phased, and without missing a beat:
  3325. 3325.
    >”Yes. That’s the kind of nonsense we’re dealing with.”
  3326. 3326.
    >”Yes. That’s exactly how this bullshit all works.”
  3327. 3327.
    >Once again, you threw up your scaly hands in mock surrender.
  3328. 3328.
    >But this time you leaped out of your seat and said,
  3329. 3329.
    “Then fuck it, let’s go get guns and shoot all the stupid gnomes first. Then you two, fresh air avoiding, grass not touching, nerds can debate all you want about it later.”
  3330. 3330.
    >Without waiting for an answer, you walked over to the front door and swung it open, then looked back.
  3331. 3331.
    >Aisling smiled despite herself, and, daintily, she began to follow after you.
  3332. 3332.
    >Anonymous laughed and jumped off the side of the couch, bumping her side against yours.
  3333. 3333.
    >”Fine. Stupid catbird. Now teach me how to fly.”
  3334. 3334.
    >The three of you all filed outside onto the front yard, blinking and dazzled by the bright midday sun.
  3335. 3335.
    >Birds of all feathers were darting around, exciting that tight bundle of predators’ synapses in your head.
  3336. 3336.
    >The sun had melted the snow down a couple inches by now, and here and there in the yard there were patches of bare grass where Aisling had scuffed up the snow before.
  3337. 3337.
    >One long stretch of it was also totally exposed from your own antics last night.
  3338. 3338.
    >You sucked down air and puffed all your feathers up, while you stretched your wings and marched in a little circle in the snow to stretch your legs.
  3339. 3339.
    >It felt like you were finally waking up after all that snoozy lounging around.
  3340. 3340.
    >Somehow it must have looked really funny to Aisling and Anonymous though, they had to hang on to each other to stop themselves from falling on the ground laughing.
  3341. 3341.
     
  3342. 3342.
    >Eventually Aisling broke away, and struck out for the neighbour’s place early, saying,
  3343. 3343.
    >”We can meet up there, I’d rather go on a nice walk than-”
  3344. 3344.
    >Here her gaze honed in on you, and her smile became ironic as she finished,
  3345. 3345.
    >”-ride along.”
  3346. 3346.
    >With that she left across the yard and up the neighbour’s driveway, her silver tail bobbing along behind her.
  3347. 3347.
    >Anonymous popped her grinning face up right in front of yours, obscuring your view of the black pony.
  3348. 3348.
    >With honest excitement she asked,
  3349. 3349.
    >”So how do we start? How should I flap my wings?”
  3350. 3350.
    >Her joy was infectious, especially since it hadn’t even been a day yet since you first flew.
  3351. 3351.
    >That spark from last night flared in your belly again.
  3352. 3352.
    >Grinning, you stepped back from Anonymous and spread your wings as wide as they went with a sonorous sound like a sail taking wind.
  3353. 3353.
    >She mirrored you, and her span was maybe three quarters the length of yours.
  3354. 3354.
    >A sudden gust swirled by, as if to celebrate the moment, ruffling the feathers on your chest and sending her mane aflutter around her head.
  3355. 3355.
    >You locked eyes with Anonymous, then slowly, and carefully, you began to beat your wings with that freshly imprinted form.
  3356. 3356.
    >Her eyes glimmered and narrowed, watching every little motion.
  3357. 3357.
    >Once you had completed a couple cycles she started flapping her little wings too, and it drew a chuckle from you seeing her so focused.
  3358. 3358.
    >You watched her form, and saw a whole lot of errors, though you couldn’t be sure they were all mistakes since her wings were different than yours.
  3359. 3359.
    >Hers were not as broad, and the way her primary feathers were placed were different.
  3360. 3360.
    >Breaking off from your demonstration, you motioned her to continue, and walked up beside her.
  3361. 3361.
    >Hm...
  3362. 3362.
    >You eyed Anonymous up carefully, then looked around at all the birds, trying to find a closer comparison to make against her shape.
  3363. 3363.
    >After picking through chickadees, blue jays, a cardinal, and an eagle soaring above, you settled on the wings of a crow.
  3364. 3364.
    >They seemed to be a perfect match.
  3365. 3365.
    “You’re just flapping up and down, you have to really push the air, scoop it out and send it past.”
  3366. 3366.
    >You remarked.
  3367. 3367.
    >Anonymous nodded, and modified her beating, but it still wasn’t quite right.
  3368. 3368.
    >So you shook your head and asked,
  3369. 3369.
    “Just a second, hold them out?”
  3370. 3370.
    >And she acquiesced, watching as you sat before her and reached out with both of your hands.
  3371. 3371.
    >Gently, you grasped the tip and the base of her wing with a set of claws apiece, then you began to move her appendage yourself to mimic the scooping motion you were talking about.
  3372. 3372.
    >Anonymous’ feathers were so pleasantly soft it gave you pause.
  3373. 3373.
    >Man if this was it, and you were stuck like this, your kid was going to hate flying lessons because half of it would just become wing squeezing.
  3374. 3374.
    “See it’s the way you rotate this joint that-”
  3375. 3375.
    >As best you could, you proceeded to explain the principles you had instinctively grasped already.
  3376. 3376.
    >The little pony listened intently, and with every word, her smile slowly crept up and up.
  3377. 3377.
     
  3378. 3378.
    #Eyes Up
  3379. 3379.
     
  3380. 3380.
    [jpjrr/SAsLCZNunpFnccg0hWQ9Rn4PEc4M5yGHLFEol48AJvnibdyk5vG93F/iYdJPlKCyop/4PeRlFBZB7dHw==]
  3381. 3381.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwHDMYq0S3g
  3382. 3382.
    >Once you had finished, Anonymous nodded just once, shivering with excitement.
  3383. 3383.
    >You smiled, regretfully let go of those downy wings, and padded your way back a few steps to watch her first attempt.
  3384. 3384.
    >She pointed her muzzle up at the sky and shut her eyes, feeling out the wind.
  3385. 3385.
    >Her wings were lifted at her sides, the tips bending with the breeze.
  3386. 3386.
    >Then, still feeling out the air, Anonymous positioned herself contrary to its flow, one little hoofstep at a time.
  3387. 3387.
    >She froze as soon as she had it full in the face, waiting...
  3388. 3388.
    >...For a gust that picked up her mane and threw it flapping behind her head.
  3389. 3389.
    >Right away, Anonymous began to flap.
  3390. 3390.
    >The first five were poorly done, rushed, and didn’t get her aloft, but on the sixth, into the eighth wingbeat, her hooves finally left the earth.
  3391. 3391.
    >Those pearly wings fell into a steadier rhythm, palpitated only by their owner’s self awareness.
  3392. 3392.
    >Anonymous hovered, her eyes wide and her head all darting around in disbelief.
  3393. 3393.
    >Yes, she was flying.
  3394. 3394.
    >You pumped your balled fist of talons, then she gaped at you, and you shot her a thumbs up, grinning.
  3395. 3395.
    >Immediately she laughed, her blue eyes gleaming bright, and just as immediately as she laughed, she fell.
  3396. 3396.
    >Gasping desperately, a graceless,
  3397. 3397.
    >”Oofffuck..!”
  3398. 3398.
    >Escaped her mouth as her hooves slipped out from under her and her barrel piled into the snow.
  3399. 3399.
    >You cringed at the sound, but knew at a glance that it wasn’t anything major.
  3400. 3400.
    >Anonymous had her eyes pinned on you through her tousled bangs, blushing furiously and obviously expecting you to laugh as she scampered back up onto all fours.
  3401. 3401.
    >But you could relate all too well.
  3402. 3402.
    >Instead of mocking her outright, you nodded your head knowingly, pressing a talon under your beak the way you’d hold your chin as a human, and wistfully quoted,
  3403. 3403.
    “That’s the way she goes.”
  3404. 3404.
    >Anonymous rolled her eyes and blew her mane away from her face, then she tromped past you, giving you a quick smack on the flank with her wing as she went.
  3405. 3405.
    >”Shaddap.”
  3406. 3406.
    >Was all you heard before she took off.
  3407. 3407.
    >The launch was clean.
  3408. 3408.
    >With just one well timed flap, Anonymous had already climbed double the height she’d been hovering at previously.
  3409. 3409.
    >After that her technique was not so swell, but it got the job done.
  3410. 3410.
    >You watched her rise, looking like a little white kite, laughing and whooping until she reached her zenith maybe two electrical poles up, where she began to circle in the air.
  3411. 3411.
    >”Come on!!”
  3412. 3412.
    >Anonymous hollered down.
  3413. 3413.
    >From here, you could count each tooth in the big smile on her face.
  3414. 3414.
    >But you could see the tensed muscles in her withers too, and her nervously darting eyes.
  3415. 3415.
    >She wasn’t used to the height, probably she hadn’t been given the kind of instincts you had.
  3416. 3416.
    >You stuck your tongue out of the side of your beak and spread your wings behind you, feeling the thrill from last night all over again.
  3417. 3417.
     
  3418. 3418.
    >Your tail twirled around as you took up a wider stance, pushing your paws back into the ice and forcing your head up to point like an arrow at the little pony in the sky.
  3419. 3419.
    >With one wing beat, not nearly as strong as you could manage, you were at your pony friend’s altitude.
  3420. 3420.
    >With the second you soared past her, cackling and flipping her the bird.
  3421. 3421.
    >”Fucker!”
  3422. 3422.
    >But you were gone, jetting past in a vast arc as you took in the landscape.
  3423. 3423.
    >Your confidence was triple what it had been last night.
  3424. 3424.
    >The air streamed across your beak like a wake from a boat’s prow, and you could feel it tracing along your wings in a perfectly aerodynamic harmony.
  3425. 3425.
    >Here, now, in the light of the sun, there was nothing that could hide from you.
  3426. 3426.
    >The clouds ran from your sight in long feathery lines across the pale blue sky, back towards the sun to escape.
  3427. 3427.
    >Below, the patches of forest, field, home and rock expanded, all dusted in shimmering snowfall and cut across by a sable river of pavement, the highway.
  3428. 3428.
    >Your eyes counted ten coneys within a mile, too many birds to bother counting, and... yes, three gnome tracks in the snow.
  3429. 3429.
    >A sordid grin twisted your face; they were traps, obviously.
  3430. 3430.
    >They were even laid where the gnomes must have figured your group was certain to find them, at the spot where it had all happened last night.
  3431. 3431.
    >You stopped your soaring and hovered, taking in the details.
  3432. 3432.
    >The bodies were gone but the bloodstains remained.
  3433. 3433.
    >...And your knife was there, with the blade buried in the ice.
  3434. 3434.
    >It hadn’t even crossed your mind that you had left it behind.
  3435. 3435.
    >You clicked your beak when you noticed the faintest shimmering line coming from its hilt, so faint even you had to screw your eyes up to keep track of it.
  3436. 3436.
    >Must be some dew blessed gossamer thrice weaved by a... whatever.
  3437. 3437.
    >Squinting, you followed the path of the wire trap, hovering a little to the right to get it all in view.
  3438. 3438.
    >It went up to a gnarly looking widowmaker; the dead top of a birch that probably blended well with the tree cover when you looked at it from below.
  3439. 3439.
    >You just shook your head and smiled.
  3440. 3440.
    >The fact that they had lain traps gave away the whole game.
  3441. 3441.
    >It meant the gnomes were still in the forest, and that they knew it was possible to track them.
  3442. 3442.
    “They’re here, they’re not so hidden, and I can find them...”
  3443. 3443.
    >Most of the worst case scenarios were officially off the table.
  3444. 3444.
    >You felt lighter than air.
  3445. 3445.
    >You spun around and pelted yourself back at Anonymous with an almost lazy whip of your wings, feeling positively smug.
  3446. 3446.
    >The little white kite was on a shaky looking glide towards the neighbour’s farmhouse.
  3447. 3447.
    >She was gaping all around, trying to catch sight of you again, but you were right inside her blind spot.
  3448. 3448.
    >There was half a niggling thought at the back of your head to dive at Anon and give her a spook, but you thought better of it.
  3449. 3449.
    >With careful wing control, you brought your speed down and let loose a low toned call to catch the pony’s attention as you pulled up beside her.
  3450. 3450.
     
  3451. 3451.
    >Her little ears tracked you before her eyes could.
  3452. 3452.
    >Exasperation crossed her face for second, but first flier’s glee melted it away.
  3453. 3453.
    >”Watch.”
  3454. 3454.
    >She confidently commanded.
  3455. 3455.
    >You smiled and kept an even keel.
  3456. 3456.
    >With newfound avian grace, Anonymous flapped her wings once, well and low.
  3457. 3457.
    >The beat wafted her up in an arc above you, and halfway across she flapped just her left wing, spinning herself like a drill as she completed the maneuver to settle into a glide again at your right side.
  3458. 3458.
    >Anonymous raised her head almost haughtily, smiling as wide as could be.
  3459. 3459.
    >You were honestly impressed.
  3460. 3460.
    >It had hardly been ten minutes and she was this maneuverable?
  3461. 3461.
    >Also, you had seen exactly that same bit of acrobatics before, it was a common trick crows used when harrying eagles.
  3462. 3462.
    >Of course she’d do it to you.
  3463. 3463.
    >You nodded approvingly, and clapped your claws as you asked,
  3464. 3464.
    “Watched the crows?”
  3465. 3465.
    >”Mm-hmm.”
  3466. 3466.
    >She hummed, before breaking into giggles.
  3467. 3467.
    >Her bright blues stared into the horizon blissfully as she glided along beside you.
  3468. 3468.
    >Thoughtfully, Anonymous said,
  3469. 3469.
    >”This is beautiful.”
  3470. 3470.
    “Yeah.”
  3471. 3471.
    >But still not right, a thought chimed in at the back of your mind.
  3472. 3472.
     
  3473. 3473.
    ////
  3474. 3474.
     
  3475. 3475.
    >This was so right, you thought, breathing deep.
  3476. 3476.
    >The air was flowing in streams across and under your wings, buoying you.
  3477. 3477.
    >Every feeling, of the wind passing across your feathers, of it threading through your mane, and of it scoring across your fur, was an exhilaration so potent you had felt a little dazed at first.
  3478. 3478.
    >Now the whole world reamed out before you, and you knew that the best thing you could possibly be doing right now was flying over it with your best friend.
  3479. 3479.
    >Really, nothing better.
  3480. 3480.
    >You turned your head and smiled at Chad again, though his eyes were pointed elsewhere.
  3481. 3481.
    >Somehow he still saw, and smiled back re-assuredly.
  3482. 3482.
    >Chad’s wings were shifting the currents beside you.
  3483. 3483.
    >He was like a wall you were sidling up against, he kept the rogue winds that would shoot up at bay, and made it much easier for you to glide so high like this.
  3484. 3484.
    >Without you really noticing, the both of you had climbed maybe double what you thought had been your maximum earlier.
  3485. 3485.
    >Really, Chad’s body was incredible.
  3486. 3486.
    >Seeing him actually move, and not just laze around Aisling’s house, had made you realize just how strong he was.
  3487. 3487.
    >You had barely been able to follow that big arcing soar earlier.
  3488. 3488.
    >But you didn’t feel jealous, even as a joke.
  3489. 3489.
    >Playfully, you dipped the ends of your left lead feathers and tipped up the ends on your right wing.
  3490. 3490.
    >The motion sent you spinning on yourself faster and faster as you hugged your wings closer to your body.
  3491. 3491.
    >You plummeted, and you directed the fall, passing underneath Chad.
  3492. 3492.
    >You caught his eye, glinting dangerously, though his smile was friendly as ever.
  3493. 3493.
    >Probably, he had already realized what you were up to, though it was too little too late to stop you.
  3494. 3494.
    >Laughing, you felt out the thermal coming up from below and caught it, spreading your wings wide.
  3495. 3495.
     
  3496. 3496.
    >The burst of thrust brought you more than level with Chad again, now at his left side.
  3497. 3497.
    >Right now you loved your wings much more than his.
  3498. 3498.
    >You smiled at Chad’s steadily descending, unreadable face, while he pointed out the obvious,
  3499. 3499.
    >”You cut my air.”
  3500. 3500.
    >Pitilessly, you stared down your muzzle at him and replied,
  3501. 3501.
    “Yup.”
  3502. 3502.
    >To lay in the salt, you conjured up a hand on your hoof and flipped the bird, at the bird.
  3503. 3503.
    >Chad chuckled, shaking his head on his slow descent.
  3504. 3504.
    >He flapped just once to regain his altitude, and you giggled wildly as the force sent you tumbling away in the sky, head over hooves, like a child being thrown into a pool.
  3505. 3505.
    >The both of you locked eyes when you stopped yourself midair.
  3506. 3506.
    >A moment’s surprise flitted across Chad’s face, before he smirked, and flapped again when you tried to approach.
  3507. 3507.
    >And again you were sent tumbling, but this time you took advantage of the turbulence, and sent yourself wheeling into the air above your overlarge flying friend.
  3508. 3508.
    >There was never a better time to be up to no good, you thought.
  3509. 3509.
    >First you blinded him, sweeping your tail over his face, then you cartwheeled across Chad’s back.
  3510. 3510.
    >”Cocky little...”
  3511. 3511.
    >His big golden eye was squinted at you sidelong, and his tail swung around restlessly, but he still smirked as if the ace was in his claws.
  3512. 3512.
    >You knew better though, there was no way he could use those massive wings to maneuver the way you could.
  3513. 3513.
    >So you prepared for another big flap, picturing a new trick to play on the big dumb hawkcat.
  3514. 3514.
    >But Chad did the opposite, and suddenly clapped his wings flat against himself instead, catching you off guard.
  3515. 3515.
    >The expression on his beak was concealed, and there was a twinkle in his eyes as he dipped away, promptly vanishing behind you.
  3516. 3516.
    >You whipped your head around to try to follow, but you only caught the shaking of his tail before he vanished again.
  3517. 3517.
    >The ominous sounding clap of a wing and a lingering rust speckled feather left in the griffon’s wake were your only clues.
  3518. 3518.
    >You gaped around worriedly into the empty blue for few seconds before regaining your presence of mind.
  3519. 3519.
    >Ears, your hearing was your best bet against that bird brain’s likely ludicrous field of vision.
  3520. 3520.
    >So you honed your ears against your surroundings, trying to pick up even the faintest trace of wings, while you did your best to scan visually as well.
  3521. 3521.
    >But all you saw was the open sky above and the open field below.
  3522. 3522.
    >At some point in the middle of playing, the two of you had gotten pretty far off track from the neighbour’s farmhouse.
  3523. 3523.
    >Not that it mattered right now.
  3524. 3524.
    >Your ears caught and locked on to the distinct whistle of Chad’s wings cutting the air, up and left.
  3525. 3525.
    >Your eyes follo-
  3526. 3526.
    >Eye.
  3527. 3527.
    >You saw nothing but a piercing yellow eye, before it disappeared.
  3528. 3528.
    >Though, your ears couldn’t have failed to hear the thunderous, the calamitous threat of Chad’s dive, as he tore through the sky on your left side.
  3529. 3529.
    >The turbulence hit you half a second later, and sent you down in an uncontrolled spin.
  3530. 3530.
     
  3531. 3531.
    >Your heart remembered to beat about the same time you remembered how to flap your wings, some twenty feet from the snowy ground.
  3532. 3532.
    “Fuck!”
  3533. 3533.
    >You hollered to no one, kicking your hooves all around restlessly as you slowly regained altitude.
  3534. 3534.
    >Your heart was pounding, your adrenaline was giving you the shakes, but you were grinning too.
  3535. 3535.
    >Chad was FAST.
  3536. 3536.
     
  3537. 3537.
    #Pinion
  3538. 3538.
     
  3539. 3539.
    >Fast like jet at an airshow fast.
  3540. 3540.
    >Already, he was nowhere you could see anymore, likely soaring at several times your height, just watching you.
  3541. 3541.
    >But your ears were honed to him now, right away you caught the whistling wind over his feathers, straight up.
  3542. 3542.
    >You tossed your head and looked, spotting the faintest outline of Chad, God knows how high above.
  3543. 3543.
    >As soon as you did, he cut around in a borderline supernatural looking arc, wheeling through the air at such a ridiculous speed it was a wonder his head stayed attached to his neck.
  3544. 3544.
    >Chad passed into your blind spot and then vanished in a different direction.
  3545. 3545.
    >You laughed at that and licked your lips in anticipation of getting one over him this time.
  3546. 3546.
    >Probably he wouldn’t do it again exactly like how he did before, but there was one guarantee: Chad was going to dive at you, probably even closer than earlier.
  3547. 3547.
    >He was literally too fast for your eyes, so you gave up on looking, and focused on listening.
  3548. 3548.
    >You stopped flapping, and caught a strong updraft to glide upon, reducing the ambient noise down to just the wind rolling over your ears while you stared straight ahead.
  3549. 3549.
    >Wind.
  3550. 3550.
    >Wind.
  3551. 3551.
    >Wind.
  3552. 3552.
    >Piercing whistle, left again.
  3553. 3553.
    >There was no time to think or look, you just cast a hand and flicked its finger to where you expected Chad’s head would be.
  3554. 3554.
    >Your eyes caught the very moment of your success; Chad was slicing down through the sky on your left side with one of his clawed hands extended towards your head.
  3555. 3555.
    >The floating black light hand you’d summoned flicked him right between his wide, crossed, yellow eyes, and this time you heard a surprised squawk accompany that tumult of noise that came with Chad’s dive.
  3556. 3556.
    >Even as you tumbled in the riptide of wind that followed, you giggled and spluttered.
  3557. 3557.
    >Finally you spread your wings again, and leveled out just a foot from the earth.
  3558. 3558.
    >Grinning madly, you pulled up in a swoop, back to higher altitude.
  3559. 3559.
    >Man, this was so right.
  3560. 3560.
    >You watched your griffon friend approach fast on your right, and smirked, as he smirked right along at you.
  3561. 3561.
    >The two of you clasped, hoof to talons, and laughed.
  3562. 3562.
    >Then Chad bumped your shoulder with a balled fist and noted,
  3563. 3563.
    >”Had to cheat and use magic huh?”
  3564. 3564.
    >You rolled your eyes and smiled sidelong at him, replying as you flapped once,
  3565. 3565.
    “As if anything you can do is fair.”
  3566. 3566.
    >Then you suddenly remembered that moment of the last dive, Chad had reached out with his claws...
  3567. 3567.
    “Wha-”
  3568. 3568.
    >Chad laughed as you reached up to your ear with a hoof, and beat you there with his talons, plucking out... One of his own feathers.
  3569. 3569.
    >You puffed up your cheeks, as he smiled slyly and stuck it back behind your ear.
  3570. 3570.
    >He was doing that thing again, where he put his scaly hand under his beak, like he still had a chin or something.
  3571. 3571.
    >There was an appraising glint in his eyes as he said,
  3572. 3572.
    >”That’s better. The feather and your mane blowing in the wind gives you back that ‘natural’ look.”
  3573. 3573.
     
  3574. 3574.
    >Something fluttered in your heart at Chad’s remark, so you shot it down, and piled a hoof into his ribs, snorting.
  3575. 3575.
    “Sperg.”
  3576. 3576.
    >...You didn’t take the feather out though.
  3577. 3577.
    >The both of you turned back toward the neighbour’s place, and glided on, mostly in satisfied silence.
  3578. 3578.
    >All the while, for the second time since your shower earlier, you thought about how Chad had been acting differently today.
  3579. 3579.
    >It was hard to place the difference, but there was one for sure.
  3580. 3580.
    >You breathed deep, your eyes tracing his twirling lion’s tail as you pondered the aspect of what this difference was.
  3581. 3581.
    >At first it seemed like he was more distant in some ways... But taken as a whole, this past day stuck out as a time when you felt the closest to him.
  3582. 3582.
    >You looked sidelong at Chad’s face, taking in the cool collected smile on the edge of his beak as he stared ahead at the destination.
  3583. 3583.
    >Even here in this simple expression you could see there was something different: he was wistful.
  3584. 3584.
    >He cut a more thoughtful figure than usual, and it made you suspect he was undergoing a similar or even greater amount of reflection than you were right now.
  3585. 3585.
    >Considering he had just been transformed, that wasn’t really a surprise though.
  3586. 3586.
    >You sighed to yourself and looked away, ruminating.
  3587. 3587.
    >Was it you?
  3588. 3588.
    >Was it that your perception of Chad had changed?
  3589. 3589.
    >Or was he really behaving differently?
  3590. 3590.
    >You bit your lip, feeling like it may be impossible to tell.
  3591. 3591.
    >That flutter in your heart earlier, when he stuck his feather behind your ear, hadn’t been the first of today, there had been other times, like...
  3592. 3592.
    >When he laid his head in front of yours.
  3593. 3593.
    >Ranted about reptilians and fake space.
  3594. 3594.
    >Said you should keep your mane.
  3595. 3595.
    >Said you had ‘simple cuteness’.
  3596. 3596.
    >Touched your wings.
  3597. 3597.
    >Your eyes narrowed and your heart pumped a beat as a common connection of a word tumbled out of all this: Girl.
  3598. 3598.
    >He was treating you like a girl.
  3599. 3599.
    >Above all the other things you listed, Chad always sperged out about conspiracies around girls, it was why he still didn’t have a girlfriend yet after all.
  3600. 3600.
    >Your train of thought raced ahead for a moment, before crashing as you remembered that he gushed about conspiracies to you all the time anyway, human or not.
  3601. 3601.
    >So...
  3602. 3602.
    >You languished anxiously.
  3603. 3603.
    >Was Chad treating you like a girl?
  3604. 3604.
    >Your cheeks flushed.
  3605. 3605.
    >Or were you just acting like a girl?
  3606. 3606.
    >Your tail whipped behind you, and you glanced to your right at Chad again, only to meet his gaze headlong.
  3607. 3607.
    >He blinked at you, looking a little bemused, as he asked,
  3608. 3608.
    >”You getting cold? Your cheeks are all red.”
  3609. 3609.
    “Nu-OH!”
  3610. 3610.
    >You answered too quickly, your voice cracking as you shook your head and sent your mane fluttering about your face.
  3611. 3611.
    >”Cool.”
  3612. 3612.
    >Chad replied before turning his head away from you.
  3613. 3613.
    >With a quiet sigh, you pressed a hoof to your chest and calmed yourself, thinking how fortunate it was that he could be so dense at times.
  3614. 3614.
     
  3615. 3615.
    >The neighbour’s farmhouse was right below now.
  3616. 3616.
    >Your eyes narrowed and you licked your lips, as you pointed your wings down and began to glide in a descending curve alongside Chad.
  3617. 3617.
    >Some sneaky little part of you wanted to spring the ‘girl’ question on him at the best/worst time.
  3618. 3618.
    >Teasing him earlier about his comments on your wings and horn had been fun after all.
  3619. 3619.
    >So for now you pushed it to the back of your mind and took in the view.
  3620. 3620.
    >Aisling’s neighbour really had it good, with an idyllic looking, white two story home built on a rolling hill, surrounded by their fields of wheat, corn and carrots.
  3621. 3621.
    >They had two barns, and three silos with red tops, all set up behind their house.
  3622. 3622.
    >Idly, you could hear the sounds of mechanical work going on in one of the barns.
  3623. 3623.
    >Down in the snow, you saw Aisling already talking to the pony you assumed was the neighbour.
  3624. 3624.
    >There was a pair of ‘something’s tumbling in the yard too...
  3625. 3625.
    >”Kids.”
  3626. 3626.
    >Chad quietly said, as if to fill in the blank.
  3627. 3627.
    >You blinked and looked at his unreadable expression.
  3628. 3628.
    >”The kids got transformed too.”
  3629. 3629.
    >He shook his head.
  3630. 3630.
    >”I really don’t know what to think about that.”
  3631. 3631.
    “Yeah.”
  3632. 3632.
    >You agreed simply.
  3633. 3633.
    >Your features grew a little stonier as your glide brought you lower and closer and you saw the kids for yourself.
  3634. 3634.
    >Two colts horsing around and laughing in the snow, both just plain ponies with no wings or horns.
  3635. 3635.
    >One with a brown coat and the other with a black one.
  3636. 3636.
    >You touched ground about ten feet from Aisling and the father, at a cantering pace, while Chad slid cleanly alongside you.
  3637. 3637.
    >Aisling’s gleaming eye caught yours, and you smiled, waving your wing at her.
  3638. 3638.
     
  3639. 3639.
    ////
  3640. 3640.
     
  3641. 3641.
    “That’s them.”
  3642. 3642.
    >You intoned to Frederick, your neighbour, while pointing out Chad and Anonymous with your black foreleg as they descended towards you both.
  3643. 3643.
    >”Hm. So that’s a griffon.”
  3644. 3644.
    >Frederick commented, sounding almost bored as he said it.
  3645. 3645.
    >He had never been an over-complicated man, and transforming into a pony had not changed that.
  3646. 3646.
    >As a stallion, he stood a few inches taller than you, with a much bulkier frame, covered in hazelnut brown fur splotched with off-white patches.
  3647. 3647.
    >Frederick’s mark was a yoke, plain and simple.
  3648. 3648.
    >There was something a little uncanny about his eyes, as he met yours easily.
  3649. 3649.
    >They were the same blue as before, framed with a sandy blonde mane that was just the same tone as his human hair had been.
  3650. 3650.
    >It made you wonder if the mass transformation had different properties than the individual drug induced ones.
  3651. 3651.
    >”It’s not just anypony that can come here and borrow my gun you know. I mean don’t get me wrong Aisling, if I couldn’t trust you then it would have to be the end of the world. But...”
  3652. 3652.
    >Frederick started, as he watched Chad touch down and slide along the snowy yard.
  3653. 3653.
     
  3654. 3654.
    #Aisling Again
  3655. 3655.
     
  3656. 3656.
    >The look on the griffon’s face was particularly insolent, and you couldn’t help but giggle, having seen a couple of his antics with Anon earlier.
  3657. 3657.
    >Frederick turned his sharp blue eyes on you, as if to ask: ‘Really? Him?’
  3658. 3658.
    >You nodded in reply, your eyes half lidded in amusement as you brushed your mane to the side, before you caught Anon’s pretty bright blues instead.
  3659. 3659.
    >She waved a wing at you, all white, and you waved a hoof back, tipped with silver.
  3660. 3660.
    >Your gaze flicked to the feather behind her ear, with a familiar rusty speck on it.
  3661. 3661.
    >An almost conspiratorial smile spread across your muzzle, knowing where it must have come from.
  3662. 3662.
    >With her mane all wind tossed, and that addition, she looked positively carefree.
  3663. 3663.
    >It was a welcome total bounce back from her condition this morning, and you found yourself laughing just at the warm sight of it.
  3664. 3664.
    >As soon as Anon’s eyes left your face, you caught Chad’s gaze and winked, mouthing the words: ‘Good job.’
  3665. 3665.
    >He nodded back, hardly letting on, right as they both came to a stop before you and Frederick.
  3666. 3666.
    >Frederick’s sons both trotted up, looking at Anonymous some, but at Chad especially, with wide and curious stares.
  3667. 3667.
    >The griffon stuck his tongue out briefly at them in reply, flexing his talons, while Anon quietly said,
  3668. 3668.
    >”Hello.”
  3669. 3669.
    >The colts both waved little hooves back at her, before the one with the black fur blew a raspberry at Chad, and then suddenly the younger brother tackled his elder, laughing.
  3670. 3670.
    >There were smiles and laughs all around as the two brothers split off from the group to go play again.
  3671. 3671.
    >Frederick was softly smiling at the sight, and though there was nothing but innocence about it, your heart still ached watching them tumble.
  3672. 3672.
    >They were only five and six years old, they had hardly experienced their real bodies before having this thrust upon them.
  3673. 3673.
    >The thought of how unfair that was nearly spoiled your mood.
  3674. 3674.
    >You yearned to see the gnomes flee before you, and thought maybe it wasn’t so weird you had hugged Chad soon after he’d torn three of them apart.
  3675. 3675.
    >Your wandering gaze caught the quizzical look on Anon’s face, and you realized your emotions must be showing.
  3676. 3676.
    “Just... gnomes.”
  3677. 3677.
    >You said, to clear things up, as you felt your tail flick behind you.
  3678. 3678.
    >She nodded, her eyes lingering wistfully on the two boys playing.
  3679. 3679.
    >Chad barreled over the tension, and stuck out his clawed hand to the stallion of the house, with that natural smirk playing on his beak as he introduced himself,
  3680. 3680.
    >”I’m Chad. Known Aisling for a bit, known Anonymous for longer.”
  3681. 3681.
    >Frederick set his hoof in Chad’s grasp and shook, snorting as he met the griffon’s piercing stare with his own and replied,
  3682. 3682.
    >”Frederick. Known Aisling since she was just a filly. Heard tell of Anonymous once.”
  3683. 3683.
    >Anonymous laughed and stuck her hoof out to bump Frederick’s next, and added, keeping with the trend,
  3684. 3684.
    >”Anonymous, known Aisling since senior year of high school. Never met myself yet.”
  3685. 3685.
     
  3686. 3686.
    >Chad playfully shoved Anonymous down into the snow for her lame joke, and Frederick noticeably softened at her words.
  3687. 3687.
    >There was just the slightest smile on the stallion’s face now, though his eyes narrowed a moment as he took in Chad some more, paying special attention to his claws.
  3688. 3688.
    >”So you’ll be the one shooting then.”
  3689. 3689.
    >Frederick said, finally.
  3690. 3690.
    >Then before Chad could answer, he trotted past him and towards the house, beckoning the griffon to follow as he continued,
  3691. 3691.
    >”Show me you know how to use it safely first. I don’t want to just hoof it over to somegriffon who might plant one in Aisling’s back.”
  3692. 3692.
    >Smiling, but holding his tongue, Chad followed confidently, waving to you and Anonymous as he passed the front door.
  3693. 3693.
    >His leonine tail curled and waved behind him, before slipping out of sight as the door shut, leaving you alone out in the yard with Anon and the two boys who were still horsing around.
  3694. 3694.
    >Anonymous turned to you first, smiling a little wanly as she sat in the snow,
  3695. 3695.
    >”Frederick is speaking in ‘horsetalk’, huh?”
  3696. 3696.
    >Your lips pressed together, forming a thin line across your muzzle.
  3697. 3697.
    >You nodded, and replied,
  3698. 3698.
    “Yes. But...”
  3699. 3699.
    >”He’s still the same?”
  3700. 3700.
    >Anon finished hopefully.
  3701. 3701.
    >Sweeping your silvery mane aside, you answered,
  3702. 3702.
    “Definitely.”
  3703. 3703.
    >There was no doubt in your mind.
  3704. 3704.
    >So much so, that Anonymous seemed to understand right away, and she nodded, looking chipper again.
  3705. 3705.
    >For a moment, you lifted your head up, shut your eyes, and just breathed in the cool air, feeling the midday sun’s warmth casting down on your black fur.
  3706. 3706.
    >Then you opened them once more, and you had to blink a little from the glare coming off the snow as you explained,
  3707. 3707.
    “I told him about what happened last night. So he knows about the ‘gnomes’ along with what we’re planning on doing.”
  3708. 3708.
    >Anonymous chuckled and lobbed you an easy joke,
  3709. 3709.
    >”And he just accepted that?”
  3710. 3710.
    >You smiled, and shrewdly remarked to her,
  3711. 3711.
    “He woke up in bed with a pegasus this morning. If anything he expected gnomes by lunch.”
  3712. 3712.
    >Your friend grinned a bit sheepishly, her blonde tail tossing around as she laughed.
  3713. 3713.
    >Laughing at the joke, feeling guilty about the circumstances, you thought.
  3714. 3714.
    >That conflict in her eyes was what made you laugh a little dryly back.
  3715. 3715.
    >When the both of you had settled into quietude again, Anonymous tilted her head.
  3716. 3716.
    >Her furry ears were twitching at some sound, which you honed in on a moment later.
  3717. 3717.
    >It was all the mechanical banging and clanging coming from one of Frederick’s barns.
  3718. 3718.
    >You started,
  3719. 3719.
    “The barn, right?”
  3720. 3720.
    >Anonymous nodded back, blinking.
  3721. 3721.
    “I never asked Frederick about it.”
  3722. 3722.
    >You finished as you stood up.
  3723. 3723.
    >Then you motioned your muzzle in the barn’s direction, saying,
  3724. 3724.
    “It will probably be a while before Chad and him are done anyway.”
  3725. 3725.
    >With that, you and Anonymous both set off through the ice.
  3726. 3726.
    >Here, where all the tractors and other machinery had to pass, the ground was pretty thoroughly plowed, leaving a thinner, harder layer of snow.
  3727. 3727.
     
  3728. 3728.
    >The first barn loomed over the two of you, seemingly empty.
  3729. 3729.
    >Then the second, where all the racket was coming from.
  3730. 3730.
    >It sounded like steel was being dumped flat on concrete, and when you cast a spell to open the side door and take a look, you realized it was exactly that.
  3731. 3731.
    >You and Anonymous both stepped inside the warm, loud barn with your ears flat to your heads, watching the odd spectacle taking place in the expansive main room.
  3732. 3732.
    >Ten ponies, all stallions, were dismantling the tractors and all their attachments, along with any other machinery in sight.
  3733. 3733.
    >In the corner furthest from you, there was a dusky purple unicorn hard at work at a well crafted forge that you knew but hardly believed must have been put together just this morning.
  3734. 3734.
    >The nine other ponies were all taking the metal pieces to him to melt down.
  3735. 3735.
    >And with all that metal, he was making a slew of farming equipment from just before the cusp of the industrial revolution.
  3736. 3736.
    >Iron plows, yokes, a horse drawn reaper, hoes.
  3737. 3737.
    >Immediately you had a million well formed ideas about all of this, but first you had to ask questions.
  3738. 3738.
    >So you trotted up to the blacksmith unicorn, with Anonymous in tow, and you were about to speak when the unicorn met your eyes.
  3739. 3739.
    >Your voice caught in your throat, and you blinked.
  3740. 3740.
    >Finally you managed to ask,
  3741. 3741.
    “Dakota?”
  3742. 3742.
    >The unicorn sighed, his hazel eyes flickering with recognition for a moment before locking back to the horseshoe he was banging into shape.
  3743. 3743.
    >”Aisling.”
  3744. 3744.
    >He replied simply.
  3745. 3745.
    >Your eyes went wide for a moment before you recovered, taking a deep breath.
  3746. 3746.
    “I’m such a fool...”
  3747. 3747.
    >You chided yourself.
  3748. 3748.
    >Of course everyone was affected, you had accepted that.
  3749. 3749.
    >But, you had clung to the tempting illusion of familiarity.
  3750. 3750.
    >That thought earlier when you had seen the familiar parts to Frederick’s new body, and supposed maybe the mass transformation was different from the norm...
  3751. 3751.
    >That had been a whisper of wishful thinking.
  3752. 3752.
    >Dakota smiled thinly, answering,
  3753. 3753.
    >”If you’re a fool then what does that make the rest of us?”
  3754. 3754.
    >You smiled back,
  3755. 3755.
    “Don’t feed my ego any. This is Anonymous, by the way. My pen pal?”
  3756. 3756.
    >Setting the completed horseshoe aside with his magic, Dakota reached a hoof out to the still confused looking Anon, who received it in a shake, as the stallion laconically greeted,
  3757. 3757.
    >”Sup. I used to be the mechanic around here.”
  3758. 3758.
    >Then he looked ruefully down at his anvil, and around at all the decidedly un-mechanical equipment he had made so far.
  3759. 3759.
    >”Now I guess I’m the opposite.”
  3760. 3760.
    >Now he looked down at his decidedly masculine body.
  3761. 3761.
    >”In just about every way.”
  3762. 3762.
    >You were about to clarify who Dakota was, when you saw the realization dawn on Anonymous, who sympathized immediately.
  3763. 3763.
    >Her lips pressed thin into a grim but understanding expression as she replied,
  3764. 3764.
    >”Hey, same here.”
  3765. 3765.
    >Dakota nodded back.
  3766. 3766.
    >”It’s all like some insane dream, every time I look at myself I swear I’m going to just wake up, but it never happens.”
  3767. 3767.
     
  3768. 3768.
    #Ripples
  3769. 3769.
     
  3770. 3770.
    >Hearing that drew a pang of guilt from your heart.
  3771. 3771.
    >It made you think shamefully about how you had spent most of last night frolicking around.
  3772. 3772.
    >But...
  3773. 3773.
    >You shook your head, and the thought, off.
  3774. 3774.
    >This wasn’t like last night when you first learned Anonymous had been permanently transformed, back then your own transformation was still temporary.
  3775. 3775.
    >Now you were mostly in the same boat as the both of them.
  3776. 3776.
    >While you quietly listened on the side, Anonymous related with Dakota some more.
  3777. 3777.
    >”My Tylenol bottle was spiked, a few days back. Overdosed immediately.”
  3778. 3778.
    >The stallion quietly cursed, offering some condolences before Anon continued,
  3779. 3779.
    >”The worst part is when I remember all the things I can’t do anymore... You know?”
  3780. 3780.
    >Returning a sympathetic look, Dakota replied,
  3781. 3781.
    >”I would kill to grab a wrench again.”
  3782. 3782.
    >You softly exhaled through your nose, and turned your eyes upward to the dusty eaves.
  3783. 3783.
    >What did God think?
  3784. 3784.
    >The sight of both of your friends, switched and swapped so utterly away from their real bodies...
  3785. 3785.
    >Scenes just like this were playing out everywhere, with everyone, right now.
  3786. 3786.
    >It was total befuddlement.
  3787. 3787.
    >Dakota sat there at his anvil, and for all the world he already looked like he had been there for his whole life.
  3788. 3788.
    >Sweating, his fur dusted with ash, his lively face defiant and sardonic.
  3789. 3789.
    >But inside you could tell she was strained to her limits.
  3790. 3790.
    >You had already seen it in Anonymous.
  3791. 3791.
    >For all her gamboling and cute affectations, there remained a man.
  3792. 3792.
    >And Dakota’s symptoms were more apparent, but they were both the victims of the most heinous kind of mental warfare imaginable.
  3793. 3793.
    >It made you wonder, if this kept up, how you might eventually be affected.
  3794. 3794.
    >You tilted your head, thinking intently as you stuck the tip of your tongue out absently.
  3795. 3795.
    >Without a doubt, the Fomorians were ‘not meant to be’.
  3796. 3796.
    >They were not ignorant of their trespasses, and they committed these terrible acts because they knew it would get them results.
  3797. 3797.
    >So it stood to reason that somewhere along the line of their heresy of degenerating humanity, they would get it in their heads to try and attack faith.
  3798. 3798.
    >Your eyes narrowed as you remembered one undeniable fact:
  3799. 3799.
    >The moment you had first had that thought, ‘What did God think?’, while sitting on your front yard...
  3800. 3800.
    >That was when you saw your first gnome.
  3801. 3801.
    >You were certain of it now, that red blur was a perfect match for what you had seen later in the evening.
  3802. 3802.
    >The best cover for a tipping point in any long drawn out scheme was ‘coincidence’.
  3803. 3803.
    >But, you had been removed long enough from what was going on around you.
  3804. 3804.
    >For now you filed away those musings, and tuned back in to the conversation between Anon and Dakota.
  3805. 3805.
    >The latter seemed to have returned to his work, while Anonymous was sitting a little apart, to his side, watching and listening.
  3806. 3806.
    >”It’s so stupid we’re banging out fuckin’ scythes of all things...”
  3807. 3807.
    >Dakota complained, even as he tossed another tractor fender to the forge.
  3808. 3808.
     
  3809. 3809.
    >Just as you noted the contradiction to yourself, Anonymous furrowed her brow, eyeing Dakota closely as she asked,
  3810. 3810.
    >”So... Why are you doing this then? I get no one has hands anymore but-”
  3811. 3811.
    >”We don’t even remember how to maintain these things.”
  3812. 3812.
    >The stallion grunted back, obviously referring to the tractors they were taking apart, as he slammed his hammer down on a red hot length of iron he had pulled off the fender.
  3813. 3813.
    >His magic held both his implement and the metal he was working firmly in its yellow glow.
  3814. 3814.
    >Dakota began punctuating himself with hammer strikes, and with each one his tone grew more and more charged.
  3815. 3815.
    >”All. My. Learning. Gone.”
  3816. 3816.
    >Dakota’s smile was far too wide,
  3817. 3817.
    >”But! Now I know how to smith!”
  3818. 3818.
    >He laughed and began to beat the iron down and down into a point, using the strikes to emphasize his words.
  3819. 3819.
    >”In FACT I’m JUST fantastic at IT!”
  3820. 3820.
    >You took a step back, recoiling from the flying sparks and the oppressive heat of the forge, as Dakota really began to lay into the iron, coaxing it into another horseshoe despite, no, almost *by* employing his sublimated frustrations.
  3821. 3821.
    >”No PRACTICE, no LESSONS, I just KNOW! BUT I forgot EVERYTHING about ENGINES that MATTERED to ME.”
  3822. 3822.
    >He spat off to the side, and it sizzled against the stone.
  3823. 3823.
    >”Plus, the government is paying for it.”
  3824. 3824.
    >Dakota finished with sarcastic ease, as he tossed aside the completed horseshoe.
  3825. 3825.
    >Finally you spoke back, asking,
  3826. 3826.
    “The government is subsidizing this?”
  3827. 3827.
    >Dakota quenched the iron he was working, and answered,
  3828. 3828.
    >”In spades. I’m an essential worker now, for the ‘change of pace’ as that fucking...”
  3829. 3829.
    >The unicorn seemed to be experiencing an emotion so invective he found himself unable to finish.
  3830. 3830.
    >There must have been more pronouncements from the state on what was to be done, all influenced by the mental shifts, and probably other deals the Fomorians had made with people.
  3831. 3831.
    >It dovetailed perfectly with the wiping of technical knowledge you were witnessing.
  3832. 3832.
    >You chuckled darkly to yourself.
  3833. 3833.
    >You were thinking like Chad now, drawing connections up high, where you couldn’t decisively prove them.
  3834. 3834.
    >But it was hard not to in a time like this, in fact it was probably the safer course of thought to take.
  3835. 3835.
    >Anything less would just get you duped and running in circles.
  3836. 3836.
    >So you asked Dakota more specifically,
  3837. 3837.
    “They’re telling everyone to take apart machines?”
  3838. 3838.
    >Dakota nodded, stoking up his forge as he answered,
  3839. 3839.
    >”Yeah, farmers get a big stipend for switching to more manual stuff like this. They’re also changing up the crops. Going to be a whole lot more wheat and hay.”
  3840. 3840.
    >Anonymous shook her head and sighed,
  3841. 3841.
    >”It’s insane people are just... Going along.”
  3842. 3842.
    >Breathing heavily through his nostrils, as sparks flew around his face, the unicorn smith replied,
  3843. 3843.
    >”I feel like I’m going crazy. I know this just... I dunno...”
  3844. 3844.
    >His brow was knitted and furrowed, as he elucidated the contradiction in his mind.
  3845. 3845.
    >”It’s wrong, we shouldn’t be... Going backwards. But its like... Its all I know.”
  3846. 3846.
     
  3847. 3847.
    >Finally Dakota wiped a single tear from his eye, and he couldn’t help repeating himself,
  3848. 3848.
    >”It’s all I know.”
  3849. 3849.
    >All three of you fell silent at that, and Dakota just slumped in his seat.
  3850. 3850.
    >Seeing him react that way sapped your confidence.
  3851. 3851.
    >Before you had noticed, your ears were dropping low atop your head.
  3852. 3852.
    >You were not sure now whether to tell him of you and your friends’ plans to try and reverse all this.
  3853. 3853.
    >Frederick had been simple because he had taken the change in stride, but Dakota’s situation was so much more visceral and contrary to his way of life.
  3854. 3854.
    >Memories of her, covered in grease, talking animatedly to you from under her project cars and anything else with an engine, came unbidden to your mind.
  3855. 3855.
    >You had a strange hunch that you shouldn’t tell him, that it wouldn’t be the right thing to do.
  3856. 3856.
    >A look from Anonymous confirmed she was thinking the same.
  3857. 3857.
    >But in willful defiance of it, you pressed on anyway.
  3858. 3858.
    “We’re going to fix this.”
  3859. 3859.
    >You assured Dakota confidently.
  3860. 3860.
    >He blinked up at you, confused, while you explained everything and gave him the same rundown you gave Frederick.
  3861. 3861.
    >By the end, Dakota was frowning doubtfully, but there was a glimmer of hope in his hazel eyes.
  3862. 3862.
    >He half smirked and shook his head.
  3863. 3863.
    >”Sounds stupid. But alright, I can work with that...”
  3864. 3864.
    >Anon and you both watched, wondering what he meant, while he rooted around behind his forge.
  3865. 3865.
    >Eventually Dakota came back, floating over eight pristine steel horseshoes and all the tools to fit them.
  3866. 3866.
    >With his tongue stuck out between his teeth, and a wily looking smile, Dakota brushed aside his violet mane and asked you,
  3867. 3867.
    >”Iron kills ‘em?”
  3868. 3868.
    >Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, then you smiled in return, answering with a crystal clear,
  3869. 3869.
    “Yes.”
  3870. 3870.
    >Anonymous just grinned and clopped her fore hoof down loudly on a nearby wooden stand for Dakota to work on.
  3871. 3871.
    >Which he did, with something not dissimilar from that single minded enthusiasm he reserved for tuned up project cars.
  3872. 3872.
    >First he brought out a hoof knife, and he carefully began to trim the inside of Anon’s hoof.
  3873. 3873.
    >She winced before the first contact of the knife to her frog, holding her eyes shut.
  3874. 3874.
    >”Y-yo wai-”
  3875. 3875.
    >She started to protest, but by the time she had opened her eyes again, Dakota was already done trimming around her sole and had gotten out a rasp to start smoothing out the edges, chuckling all the while.
  3876. 3876.
    >You giggled, seeing Anonymous slowly realize that none of it was going to hurt.
  3877. 3877.
    >It was just like trimming nails after all.
  3878. 3878.
    >The shoe that Dakota was going to fit to her was already on the forge while he went about with rasping.
  3879. 3879.
    >”It’s so weird how this memory stuff works, you know?”
  3880. 3880.
    >Dakota said, idly.
  3881. 3881.
    >You smiled and replied,
  3882. 3882.
    “Yeah?”
  3883. 3883.
    >”I’ve seen farriers do this before, on some other farms I did work for...”
  3884. 3884.
    >The stallion trailed off and paused for a second as he set Anonymous’ hoof down off of the stand, seemingly satisfied with the rasping.
  3885. 3885.
    >While he made his way back over to his anvil, he continued,
  3886. 3886.
    >”But obviously I never touched any of it, just watched. Anyway, I don’t even know why I’m saying this, but...”
  3887. 3887.
    >Dakota laughed as he took the red hot shoe off the fire,
  3888. 3888.
    >”I’m doing it just like this one old man used to, guy called Patrick.”
  3889. 3889.
     
  3890. 3890.
    ##Coincidences
  3891. 3891.
     
  3892. 3892.
    >At that, Dakota started artfully hammering away at the horseshoe.
  3893. 3893.
    >His eyes would dart momentarily to Anon’s hoof between every few swings, to gauge the size.
  3894. 3894.
    >Anonymous had this awfully pleased looking smile on her muzzle, and a distant look in her eyes all of a sudden.
  3895. 3895.
    >Something about it brought back your first impression of ponies being these goofy, weird looking things, while she just stood there with one hoof up on the stand, smiling into space.
  3896. 3896.
    >So you approached with your tongue stuck out, and gave her a little poke in the ribs, as you asked,
  3897. 3897.
    “What are you thinking about?”
  3898. 3898.
    >She just turned that smile on you, laughing softly, before she answered,
  3899. 3899.
    >”I met an old security guard called Patrick a few days ago...”
  3900. 3900.
    >Pausing for a moment, the now positively hypnotized looking mare ran her other fore hoof over her head, ponderously rubbing at one of her ears as she reminisced,
  3901. 3901.
    >”Old Scot gave me the best damn petting session I’ve gotten yet. It was borderline magical...”
  3902. 3902.
    >Your eyes went a little wide.
  3903. 3903.
    >At first you were going to laugh at her, but now that Anonymous had mentioned it, you realized for the first time that you hadn’t actually been pet yet.
  3904. 3904.
    >One of the b-rolls on the news that you had seen in the earlier days, before the gnomes, was footage of a little mare on a bus, getting patted by a girl sitting in front of her.
  3905. 3905.
    >The quality of the video had been low, and the angle pretty bad, where you could only really see the pony’s head, but the expression of contentment on her face-
  3906. 3906.
    >You blinked.
  3907. 3907.
    >And looked back at Anon’s contented expression.
  3908. 3908.
    “I saw you on the news.”
  3909. 3909.
    >You stated suddenly.
  3910. 3910.
    >She looked up at you, smiling more normally now, her eyes clear and focused on the present.
  3911. 3911.
    >”Yeah? I did kinda get popular on like 4chan for a little while, before there were way more ponies around.”
  3912. 3912.
    >Dakota’s ears perked up at the conversation, but he was still busy shaping the horseshoe.
  3913. 3913.
    >You sat and thoughtfully pressed a hoof to your chin, prompting,
  3914. 3914.
    “It was a video of you on a bus, with a little girl petting you?”
  3915. 3915.
    >Anonymous grinned.
  3916. 3916.
    >”Yep. I remember that. That felt nice too, but it just wasn’t the same as when Patrick scratched my ears.”
  3917. 3917.
    >Her ears flicked once as if they also remembered, before she added,
  3918. 3918.
    >”Actually, I met Patrick right before that.”
  3919. 3919.
    >So two pats minimum in a single day.
  3920. 3920.
    >Your eyes narrowed slightly in something you weren’t ready to call envy.
  3921. 3921.
    “Hm.”
  3922. 3922.
    >Was all you could say.
  3923. 3923.
    >You had hoped prying further might get her to divulge a little more on what being pet felt like.
  3924. 3924.
    >Because...
  3925. 3925.
    >You thanked nothing in particular right at that moment that your black fur wouldn’t show you blushing.
  3926. 3926.
    >Well it was a little embarrassing to ask.
  3927. 3927.
    >Your lips pressed thin as you reasoned the problem out even further.
  3928. 3928.
    >Chad was probably the only person left now with ‘hands’.
  3929. 3929.
    >In the world.
  3930. 3930.
    >So technically you were incredibly lucky being near him, but asking Chad to pat your head?
  3931. 3931.
     
  3932. 3932.
    >You sighed and stood up again, stretching your legs as you strutted around in a circle.
  3933. 3933.
    >The mane tousling he had given you earlier didn’t count either, it was obvious from the way you had seen Anon react to having hers mussed up compared to now when she was just THINKING about a time before when she got pet.
  3934. 3934.
    >Dakota suddenly spoke up though, as he laid the shaped hoof back on the fire to get ready for the next step.
  3935. 3935.
    >”The Patrick I knew was Scottish too.”
  3936. 3936.
    >He stared curiously at Anonymous.
  3937. 3937.
    >Who looked a little surprised, but mostly just ambivalent, as she replied,
  3938. 3938.
    >”You seem pretty sure he was a different guy.”
  3939. 3939.
    >The craftspony nodded, his eyes glimmering orange by the forge light as he watched the metal turn red hot again.
  3940. 3940.
    >Sparks fluttered around his face, illuminating the line of his mouth, down his muzzle, and sparkling against the subtle iridescent quality of his purple fur as he said,
  3941. 3941.
    >”The Patrick I met was a farrier his whole life, started by doing the shoes for the family pony, Applejack. He never retired, and passed away while I knew him.”
  3942. 3942.
    >Anon seemed to perk up at the name Applejack, but she held her tongue.
  3943. 3943.
    >There was more energy in Dakota’s voice as he continued, gazing at the flames,
  3944. 3944.
    >”Maybe I’m doing it like him because we’re the same way.”
  3945. 3945.
    >He lifted the scorching horseshoe from the forge with his magic, and began walking up to Anonymous, as you asked,
  3946. 3946.
    “How so?”
  3947. 3947.
    >Then, before the white mare could pull away from fear or even let out a gasp, Dakota grinned and pressed the burning horseshoe to her fresh hoof, answering,
  3948. 3948.
    >”I’m never retiring either.”
  3949. 3949.
    >Anonymous knew better than to buck, but the smith held most of her leg in his magic anyway.
  3950. 3950.
    >She watched the shoe burn on her hoof a second but then winced away at the sight, though there was no pain.
  3951. 3951.
    >It wasn’t so much the look of the burning hot shoe pressed up against her hoof that bothered you, but the keening burning sound it produced that got you to cringe.
  3952. 3952.
    >Your snout scrunched right up, and your eyes darted aside.
  3953. 3953.
    >You felt a shiver run down your black withers, and heard Dakota chuckle when Anonymous asked,
  3954. 3954.
    >”So is this... Required?”
  3955. 3955.
    >The purple unicorn answered casually, grinning at his work,
  3956. 3956.
    >”It’s all a part of the process. Going a lot better than I thought actually.”
  3957. 3957.
    >As smoke billowed still from the burning contact point, Dakota hovered over his hoof knife again, and started to trim flat the last few errant edges in Anon’s sole.
  3958. 3958.
    >It took a minute or so until he seemed satisfied with the result and levitated the shoe away to cool while he started trimming the rest of her hooves.
  3959. 3959.
    >This time you could tell his movements were even more confident than his already brazen first start.
  3960. 3960.
    >By the time the horseshoe was ready to be nailed on, all of Anon’s hooves were trimmed flat, smooth and balanced as they could be.
  3961. 3961.
     
  3962. 3962.
    >From there Dakota worked quickly, nailing the first shoe on and scraping away the pointed remnants from the other side of Anonymous’ hoof until everything was flush.
  3963. 3963.
    >He finished the other three hooves in practically no time at all compared to the first.
  3964. 3964.
    >Then, chuckling, he clapped a hoof to the last of Anon’s shoes, making it ring out in the barn, loud enough that all the worker stallions looked over and smiled.
  3965. 3965.
    >”This feels so weird... But right?”
  3966. 3966.
    >Anonymous hopped up and down in place with a bemused look on her muzzle, ears twitching every time her horseshoes loudly clicked against the concrete.
  3967. 3967.
    >The shoes glimmered in the light, all fresh and silvery like your own natural hooves.
  3968. 3968.
    >Something about the sight was instantly nostalgic to you, though you had never grown up around horses.
  3969. 3969.
    >As you and Dakota both watched, Anon pranced around in place, giggling a little, then grinning as she held up one shoed forehoof.
  3970. 3970.
    >”Ready to fuck up some gnomes.”
  3971. 3971.
    >You laughed and nodded emphatically, before trotting over to the wooden stand to place your own hoof up on it.
  3972. 3972.
    >But you also gave Anon a sidelong glance with one raised eyebrow as she kept trotting in circles, obviously enraptured with the sound of her own horseshoes clicking.
  3973. 3973.
    >She did not see Chad fight last night, you mused.
  3974. 3974.
    >It seemed very unlikely to you that either of you would really have to chance to deck a gnome in the face with your hooves when that feathered terror was set loose, with a gun no less.
  3975. 3975.
    >But it didn’t hurt to keep stacking cards in your favour either, these horseshoes could easily pay dividends for self defence, and they should make for faster galloping too.
  3976. 3976.
    >Dakota chuckled as he approached with all his tools hovering around him at the ready, but he shook his head a little too, the glint of your silver hooves catching in his eyes as he ponderously said,
  3977. 3977.
    >”Seems almost a shame to even touch these ones.”
  3978. 3978.
    “I don’t plan to keep them anyway.”
  3979. 3979.
    >You replied easily, smiling slyly at the stallion.
  3980. 3980.
    >”Good point.”
  3981. 3981.
    >He replied with a snort of amusement, before fetching up the hoof knife on the inside of your sole.
  3982. 3982.
    >You blinked in slight surprise at the first few cuts, watching that extra keratin be stripped away, dropping to the floor like flakes of beaten silver.
  3983. 3983.
    >Then you hmm’d thoughtfully, nodding in sudden comprehension.
  3984. 3984.
    “This is nice.”
  3985. 3985.
    >Dakota just smiled, and kept cutting away, though he didn’t have to cut much at all, since your hooves were so new and fresh.
  3986. 3986.
    >The rasp was hardly used either, which was a shame because you really liked the feel of that too, the nice satisfying pushes and pulls.
  3987. 3987.
    >But the shaping of the horseshoes...
  3988. 3988.
    >”Too... Damn... Thin...”
  3989. 3989.
    >The smith complained between hammer strikes, beating almost endlessly on the red hot steel.
  3990. 3990.
    >For the first shoe, Dakota had to re-heat it thrice, having underestimated just how much working it really needed.
  3991. 3991.
    >He was intent not to have to do the same for the others though, and set the shoes on the flame right away so that they would be hot enough to last all the shaping they would undergo.
  3992. 3992.
    >Now Dakota approached with the burning shoe, holding your fore leg fast with his magic.
  3993. 3993.
    >You couldn’t help the sweat beading your brow, nor the wince as it pressed against your hoof, but halfway through you managed to look down at it.
  3994. 3994.
     
  3995. 3995.
    #Tangent
  3996. 3996.
     
  3997. 3997.
     
  3998. 3998.
    >The glow of the super-heated steel scintillated dazzlingly on the walls of your silver hoof, shooting off glare that made you have to squint and avert your eyes again.
  3999. 3999.
    >It wasn’t so bad, there was no feeling besides the radiating heat and the pressure of the application, but you still found the noise intolerable.
  4000. 4000.
    >Anonymous watched curiously this time, her ears flicking whenever the keening sound of the burning pitched up.
  4001. 4001.
    >Your hooves were so clean, Dakota didn’t even have to rasp them again before nailing the shoe.
  4002. 4002.
    >The same went for all the other shoes, clean and fast.
  4003. 4003.
    “I wish I showed up with dirtier frogs...”
  4004. 4004.
    >You mused regretfully as Dakota cleaned out the last one with a single stroke of the hoof knife.
  4005. 4005.
    >The feeling was satisfying in a way that you couldn’t really compare to anything else, maybe like getting something out from between your teeth?
  4006. 4006.
    >Rolling his eyes, Dakota tapped the side of your hoof with the rasp.
  4007. 4007.
    >”Pretty entitled thing to say when you’re not even paying me for any of this.”
  4008. 4008.
    >Anonymous laughed and contributed,
  4009. 4009.
    >”Hey, we’re an investment, in a more humane future.”
  4010. 4010.
    >You rolled your eyes at the pun.
  4011. 4011.
    >If you weren’t stuck getting your hoof nailed, you would have drawn your first blood with these new shoes on Anonymous...
  4012. 4012.
    >The smith just grinned though, and shook his head.
  4013. 4013.
    >”Yeah, yeah, I’m leaving it all in your capable hooves.”
  4014. 4014.
    >At that, Dakota was finished.
  4015. 4015.
    >All your hooves were flush, and shoed perfectly, the new attachments gleamed brightly at the bases of them, and the metallic sheen of both hoof and shoe were similar to a degree.
  4016. 4016.
    >Smiling excitedly, you clopped down on the concrete floor right away, then pranced in a circle giggling at the distinct noise, like a stock audio effect in a movie.
  4017. 4017.
    >Now you related to how long Anon had spent doing it, as soon as she got her shoes on, even just the sound could easily become addicting.
  4018. 4018.
    “The feel is great...”
  4019. 4019.
    >You commented quietly as you ran a hoof along some stray straw on the ground.
  4020. 4020.
    >Just like you thought, there was more grip, and combined with a harder contact point you could push off with more force.
  4021. 4021.
    >Feeling properly thrilled now, you did a couple test starts and stops, galloping for just a few paces before halting.
  4022. 4022.
    >”Not bad, mmNNggg~”
  4023. 4023.
    >Dakota stretched mid sentence, crackling his joints all along his withers while he did it, before he continued,
  4024. 4024.
    >”Really not bad at all, I thought it was gonna be way harder.”
  4025. 4025.
    >Anonymous interjected slyly, poking his flank with an extended pinion feather,
  4026. 4026.
    >”I mean you kinda cheated didn’t you? You just got all the knowledge from the transformation.”
  4027. 4027.
    >The stallion laughed, and trotted up to bump his barrel against Anon playfully, while replying,
  4028. 4028.
    >”What I had to do was obvious cause of that, sure, but how to really do it all came from memories of seeing Patrick do it.”
  4029. 4029.
    >Dakota popped a grin.
  4030. 4030.
    >”So if you really think I cheated, then that’s the homework I copied from.”
  4031. 4031.
     
  4032. 4032.
    >Anon just ruffled her wings and laughed, then you heard the door creak open.
  4033. 4033.
    >Your ears turned at the distinctive sound of Chad’s beak clicking together, and you were already smiling before you met his gaze.
  4034. 4034.
    >He looked just about as confident as he’d ever been in his life, standing in the doorway with a rifle strapped to his back.
  4035. 4035.
    >His eyes, soft gold under the fluorescent light, flicked to yours and Anon’s hooves before his smile grew into something like a grin as he said,
  4036. 4036.
    >”Nice, skull bashers.”
  4037. 4037.
    >And strode inside, the light above casting down in bars between the eaves on his gray fur and white feathers.
  4038. 4038.
    >Instantly, your gaze was locked to his talons, so dextrous and perfect for... Petting.
  4039. 4039.
    >You gulped almost audibly, and awkwardly spluttered out,
  4040. 4040.
    “Yeah! I-you’ll-I think.. You will probably kill most of the Fomorians though?”
  4041. 4041.
    >Everyone involved stopped what they were doing the moment you finished speaking, Anon gave you a bemused look, Dakota looked wryly thrilled to see you slip up for once, and Chad just seemed confused.
  4042. 4042.
    >The barn went quiet right then too, the working stallions were taking a break at the most inopportune time, adding to the awkward tension.
  4043. 4043.
    >Sweat beaded your brow as you scrunched your muzzle up in equal parts frustration and embarrassment.
  4044. 4044.
    >Thank God your fuzzy black cheeks wouldn’t show your blush.
  4045. 4045.
    >Anonymous broke the silence for you, walking up to Chad to comment on the gun he’d borrowed,
  4046. 4046.
    >“30-06 huh? Fuck, that’ll blow any one of them away instantly.”
  4047. 4047.
    >And you breathed a hardly concealed sigh of relief, enough to cool at least a couple of your nerves before Dakota walked over and stepped on all of them all over again.
  4048. 4048.
    >”What’s up, you got a crush on birdhead?”
  4049. 4049.
    >Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, he leaned in and smugly whispered.
  4050. 4050.
    >”I caught you looking, so don’t even try to hide it.”
  4051. 4051.
    >Your tail flicked in annoyance, batting against Dakota’s barrel as you instantly corrected him and elucidated the real conundrum,
  4052. 4052.
    “Quiet. I just... I want to ask him to pet me. It’s nothing romantic.”
  4053. 4053.
    >All that got you was a sputtering laugh from him, and you almost regretted speaking at all, but it was still better than Dakota being convinced you had a crush on Chad and teasing you about that.
  4054. 4054.
    >In your head all sorts of pleasant mental images played out, of Chad’s scaly digits splayed out atop your head, combing through your mane, reaching behind your ears...
  4055. 4055.
    >But by contrast, your frown only grew deeper, and you hunched up your withers as Dakota leaned up against you, smirking and pulling some more at the open cut you were sporting,
  4056. 4056.
    >”Awww, a stuck up unicorn can’t just go and ask her friend for some petting, woe is her.”
  4057. 4057.
    >This is what losing your composure for more than a second got you, a catch 22 of embarrassment or frustration.
  4058. 4058.
    >You simmered there for a few moments while Dakota just savoured it, then you snorted loudly and said,
  4059. 4059.
    “I’m not stuck up, I just have standards.”
  4060. 4060.
     
  4061. 4061.
    >Then you stalked away from him, up to Chad instead.
  4062. 4062.
    >You cut right in to the middle of his conversation with Anonymous, with a brusque and straightforward call of,
  4063. 4063.
    “Chad?”
  4064. 4064.
    >He stared down at you, his brows up, and a half smile (like he wasn’t sure just what expression he should be making) playing on his beak.
  4065. 4065.
    >”Aisling.”
  4066. 4066.
    “Chad.”
  4067. 4067.
    >You repeated back instantly, your voice cracking as you stood up a little taller on the tips of your hooves in a nervous tic.
  4068. 4068.
    >There was the barest gleam of a sort of... Recognition in Chad’s eyes as to what was going on, that lasted for a precious few seconds before it was unceremoniously extinguished by his unfathomable social incapacity.
  4069. 4069.
    >”Uh. Sup.”
  4070. 4070.
    >He craned his neck over you as he spoke, his piercing hawk stare boring a hole in your head as he looked at you almost clinically now, probably thinking you had come down with some sudden illness.
  4071. 4071.
    >You couldn’t meet his eyes, you had to cast your look askance as you shuffled weirdly on your hooves.
  4072. 4072.
    “P-pet..”
  4073. 4073.
    >”Pet?”
  4074. 4074.
    >The griffon intoned quietly, his full attentions on you.
  4075. 4075.
    >He seemed to be taking this seriously now, likely having interpreted the whole fiasco as you trying to share some tough to swallow truth with him, not even considering the possibility that you would ever have an awkward fumble.
  4076. 4076.
    >Your muzzle scrunched up yet again, this time at the unfittingly serious and attentive look on his face.
  4077. 4077.
    >This was stupid, you thought.
  4078. 4078.
    >So you breathed deep, and tried to assume your normal poise, getting about halfway there before finally looking Chad in the eye and asking the one question that had been sticking to your tongue like a burr for the past ten minutes:
  4079. 4079.
    “Can you pet me?”
  4080. 4080.
    >You even brought your nose down and nudged his talons with it, specifying,
  4081. 4081.
    “Don’t just mess up my mane either, I mean actually pet me. Anonymous was talking about being pet earlier and it made me want to know what it feels like.”
  4082. 4082.
    >A deep relief washed over you at having finally requested it, dampened only slightly by Dakota’s smug grin and leavened by Anon’s knowing smile and agreeable nod of the head.
  4083. 4083.
    >Chad for his part just looked ambivalently bemused.
  4084. 4084.
    >”Really?”
  4085. 4085.
    >He scratched the back of his head, and you felt a little surge of gladness at seeing him feel awkward too, to compensate for all your awkwardness, before it was replaced with a slight nagging worry.
  4086. 4086.
    >What if he said no?
  4087. 4087.
    >Your brow knitted together just a centimetre.
  4088. 4088.
    >You genuinely hadn’t even considered that as a possibility.
  4089. 4089.
    >But it would make sense after all, it was weird enough for you asking him, he would probably feel the same-
  4090. 4090.
    “Wuayy?!”
  4091. 4091.
    >You squawked the last word of your thoughts aloud as Chad’s talons closed around your head suddenly.
  4092. 4092.
    >The hawkish face beamed down at you, amusement glimmering in the golden pits of his eyes.
  4093. 4093.
    >”You can be just as dorky as Anonymous, eh? That’s cute.”
  4094. 4094.
    >You wanted to retort, but the subtle touch of one of Chad’s claws reaching behind your ear made you just melt into his grasp.
  4095. 4095.
     
  4096. 4096.
    >The palm of his hand ran smoothly along the top of your head, flattening out your mane and producing the most soothing feeling imaginable.
  4097. 4097.
    >Between soft strokes like that, he also ran his hand down the sides of your face, rubbing your cheeks.
  4098. 4098.
    >Then he would come back up, and scratch behind your ears gently, gently, so gently.
  4099. 4099.
    >Before you had realized it, you were sitting on your haunches, and practically pressing your head into his hands, hands plural, he’d blessedly gotten the other one involved as well to double the pleasantness.
  4100. 4100.
    >The look on Chad’s face was still amused, but softly so, it reminded you a little of the expression he’d borne earlier, in your living room when he’d motioned to you to draw the curtains shut.
  4101. 4101.
    >You didn’t even know what expressions Anonymous or Dakota had, and you didn’t care, your whole mind was intent on that soft rhythm of petting, rubbing and scratching Chad had sunk you into.
  4102. 4102.
    >Every synapse in your head fired solely for translating something of that transcendental sensation, that your spirit absorbed wholly, to your rational mind.
  4103. 4103.
     
  4104. 4104.
    ## Return
  4105. 4105.
     
  4106. 4106.
    ///
  4107. 4107.
    >Yeah, ponies were cute.
  4108. 4108.
    >You moved your talon in little circles at the base of Aisling’s flicking ear, enjoying the soft give of it, and the smooth texture of her fur.
  4109. 4109.
    >A part of you thought about how all this cuteness was part of the psych op of PON-E, to pave the way.
  4110. 4110.
    >But most of you was just intent on Aisling’s happiness.
  4111. 4111.
    >Her eyes fluttered shut as your other hand gripped her head, and caressed her cheek, while that silver banner tail of hers was fluttering up and down behind her.
  4112. 4112.
    >Your eyes met Anon’s, and she just smirked playfully back at you, pointing out Aisling’s wiggling tail with a hoof.
  4113. 4113.
    >You laughed, and redoubled your petting.
  4114. 4114.
    >Though, this really was so bizarre, it struck you how this mare you were petting was a woman you knew just a day ago.
  4115. 4115.
    >There was no way that an interaction like this could have happened then, it was something alien to what the two of you really were, brought to mind by the fact there was that inherent awkwardness that clung to the act.
  4116. 4116.
    >Whatever, you thought as your gaze alighted on that perfectly relaxed, dusky face, framed in silver.
  4117. 4117.
    >This was all wrong, but ponies were cute.
  4118. 4118.
    “You’re cute, Aisling.”
  4119. 4119.
    >”Shut- Ahhh...”
  4120. 4120.
    >Aisling’s brow furrowed for just a second at your remark before you ran a talon slowly across and up her snout, instantly mollifying her again.
  4121. 4121.
    >Her whole head pressed insistently into your grasp as she shuffled forward a few inches on her rump, hooves scraping and clicking.
  4122. 4122.
    >As you began rubbing one of her ears between your talons, Aisling suddenly froze up, her breath catching in her throat... before she melted all over again, with a long and quivering sigh leaving her nostrils.
  4123. 4123.
    >Everything floated in that state for long, precious minutes, but only a few of them.
  4124. 4124.
    >Aisling would turn her head this way and that, leading your caresses to one part or another.
  4125. 4125.
    >It was as your talons unfurled and ran down her neck that Aisling’s eyes slowly opened up like two turquoise flowers blooming in dew and morning, catching the light from the open door behind you.
  4126. 4126.
    >With slow, searching words, she reluctantly spoke.
  4127. 4127.
    >”We don’t have time for this.”
  4128. 4128.
    >You smiled, and patted the top of her head one last time as you released her.
  4129. 4129.
    “Yeah.”
  4130. 4130.
    >The unicorn didn’t lift her head out of your hands right away though, a slight tremor ran along her body like she was pulling off a warm blanket on a cold morning.
  4131. 4131.
    >She frowned.
  4132. 4132.
    >Then Aisling’s slender neck rose and steadied again, as she stood up on all four hooves, shaking herself out like a dog, then tossing her mane once, twice, before she seemingly recovered all her ‘atmosphere’.
  4133. 4133.
    >With a long look at you, she said, quietly,
  4134. 4134.
    >”Thank you.”
  4135. 4135.
    >Notably, there wasn’t a smile to match, just that usual serenity with an unreadable expression again, something of the mysterious mare in the meadow was back.
  4136. 4136.
    >But, Dakota laughed brusquely and bumped shoulders with Aisling as he passed anyway.
  4137. 4137.
    >Heading outside, he farewelled casually.
  4138. 4138.
     
  4139. 4139.
    >”Get them all. Then come back and we’ll drink to it.”
  4140. 4140.
    >You stuck your tongue out of your beak at him.
  4141. 4141.
    “Yeah, thanks for the shoes.”
  4142. 4142.
    >You replied, smacking the stallion’s back as he went.
  4143. 4143.
    >Your heart revved an extra beat.
  4144. 4144.
    >You have a gun, and two mares with irons on.
  4145. 4145.
    >Nothing more needed to be said.
  4146. 4146.
    >Aisling immediately strode out of the barn, headed home to get lunch together, with just a glance and a nod at you and Anonymous before she started at a gallop down the lane.
  4147. 4147.
    >Her hooves clove the ice as easy as could be.
  4148. 4148.
    ”Scouting.”
  4149. 4149.
    >You said to Anon as you spread your wings, and she followed suit.
  4150. 4150.
    >It was a quick liftoff, gaining altitude and then turning round to circle back to Aisling’s house.
  4151. 4151.
    >There was your knife again, you remarked to yourself as you flicked up the edge of your wing.
  4152. 4152.
    >Steel glittering, half buried in the snow.
  4153. 4153.
    >But there wasn’t a single other trace of what happened last night, no blood and the snow was pristine.
  4154. 4154.
    >Of course.
  4155. 4155.
    >The only telltale sign... Was that spider silk thin line going from the end of the knife, up to a massive log not quite fully hidden in the dense pine branches above.
  4156. 4156.
    >The wind whistled in and around Anon’s feathers as she followed you in the turn, her mane scattering.
  4157. 4157.
    >”This is where all that shit happened last night, right?”
  4158. 4158.
    >She called out a little louder to beat the sound of the rushing air.
  4159. 4159.
    “Yeah.”
  4160. 4160.
    >Came your answer, then you added, while your eyes scanned over the meadow you’d found Aisling in that evening,
  4161. 4161.
    “No footprints obviously but I’ve seen about five traps so far. I can’t tell if they’re letting me see them on purpose or if I’m just overthinking it.”
  4162. 4162.
    >The mare at your side nodded, then smiled a little ruefully,
  4163. 4163.
    >”Normally I would just say you’re overthinking it but these freaks are... Well anyway. Who knows. Just don’t step in ‘em is the answer, I guess.”
  4164. 4164.
    >There was a pretty sound logic in that, sometimes things really were just as good or as bad as they seemed.
  4165. 4165.
    >You flicked your perfect gaze over the whole forest, mapping it out mentally.
  4166. 4166.
    >Just having any traps present at all made you want to tell Anon and Aisling to stay home, but you knew they wouldn’t agree to that.
  4167. 4167.
    >..And you wouldn’t agree to it yourself.
  4168. 4168.
    >Your gut told you it would be suicide to try and kill Clapperleg alone, especially.
  4169. 4169.
    >The past while, mentally, had just been you grinding your ego down to a fine point as you categorically weighed the advantages and disadvantages of the situation.
  4170. 4170.
    >The truth was you had gotten lucky last night, so lucky that it was practically a skill.
  4171. 4171.
    >It was stupendously fortunate that Clapperleg was surprised enough by your survival that he let you get in close with a knife.
  4172. 4172.
    >Let alone how unlikely it had been for the toadstool circle to transform you into something that was so perfect for just that approach to killing him in the first place.
  4173. 4173.
     
  4174. 4174.
    >Now that he knew you were coming, and what you could do, and likely was also spying on you so he even knew you had a gun, the odds of having that kind of luck were another three magnitudes lower than before.
  4175. 4175.
    >Your eyes roamed at the foot of the nearest mountain, spotting another trap, this time a concealed pit from the looks of it.
  4176. 4176.
    >On the other claw, while luck wasn’t really on your side, the weight of the rifle on your back, and of the ammunition in the pouch strapped to your left hindquarter sure as fuck was.
  4177. 4177.
    >The gnomes were leading you to them, you thought, as you pointed a talon at the last trap you spotted.
  4178. 4178.
    “The traps go all the way to the foot of that mountain, and then there’s a trail.”
  4179. 4179.
    >”So they’re leading us on.”
  4180. 4180.
    >Anon replied at a normal volume.
  4181. 4181.
    >The both of you were leveled out now, just gliding idly.
  4182. 4182.
    “Seems like it. They’re ready for a confrontation.”
  4183. 4183.
    >”Why? Why not just vanish?”
  4184. 4184.
    >You shrugged, and looked sidelong at the white mare’s consternated face; the foreground to the gentle nimbus clouds floating behind her in the afternoon sky.
  4185. 4185.
    “I thought you’d know. Some pixie, magic rules of engagement fluff?”
  4186. 4186.
    >”Nah, I’m not sure. But maybe, their mythos revolves around battling humans arriving in their land. Probably some fulfillment of that.”
  4187. 4187.
    >Every part of you wanted to just ‘whatever’ that, but ignorance of bullshit wordplay is what got you in this mess.
  4188. 4188.
    “So are we playing into them if we chase?”
  4189. 4189.
    >Anon paused, and turned herself upside down.
  4190. 4190.
    >Her mane and ears flopped around comically, all the while her eyes were screwed up in thought.
  4191. 4191.
    >Your gaze scanned across her chest and belly casually, as the soft furred plane of it rose and fell with her breathing.
  4192. 4192.
    >Then she stared at you confidently enough and answered while turning right side up again,
  4193. 4193.
    >”No. Doesn’t matter. They still got killed and defeated that way centuries ago. I think it’s fine. We just have to be careful about the wish granting, and if anything that’s easier to avoid when we’re fighting them.”
  4194. 4194.
    >You smiled and started your descent, aiming for Aisling’s front lawn again.
  4195. 4195.
    “Good. I’ll just quit thinking, start shooting, and the rest can be your problem.”
  4196. 4196.
    >Anonymous smirked back as she tilted her wings to match your posture, and glided along with you in your descending course.
  4197. 4197.
    >Her snout was practically touching your beak.
  4198. 4198.
    >”Bird brain.”
  4199. 4199.
    “Horse face.”
  4200. 4200.
    >”...Schizo.”
  4201. 4201.
    “Yep.”
  4202. 4202.
    >The both of you laughed as your respective claws, paws and hooves touched down in the snow, crunching along up until the porch.
  4203. 4203.
    >Warmth, crackling flames, and the sight of Aisling’s glowing silver horn bobbing around in the kitchen greeted you once more when you opened the front door.
  4204. 4204.
    >You took off your rifle and ammo bag, setting them on and against the coat rack.
  4205. 4205.
     
  4206. 4206.
    >Then you stretched, your front bending down as you arched your back in that typical feline posture, talons lightly scratching on the floor, paws planted firmly, and tail bending up in an arc that tickled your lower back with the bottle brush end of it.
  4207. 4207.
    >Anon trotted past you, humming, as Aisling’s pretty head popped up from behind the counter.
  4208. 4208.
    >Her eyes were softer than earlier, and a somewhat flustered smile graced her face as she looked at you.
  4209. 4209.
    >”Sandwiches.”
  4210. 4210.
    “Nice.”
  4211. 4211.
    >”Gimme.”
  4212. 4212.
    >It was all already laid out on the table, big fat sandwiches.
  4213. 4213.
    >Half of them stuffed with honeyed ham and mushrooms for you; the other half these vegetarian caprese delights, buffalo mozza, and tomatoes with pesto for the mares.
  4214. 4214.
    >All three of you plopped down in the wooden chairs around the table and instantly set to eating.
  4215. 4215.
    >You gobbled up three whole sandwiches before another word was exchanged.
  4216. 4216.
    >”So where are we heading?”
  4217. 4217.
    >Aisling asked you, as her tongue flicked out to lick up a bit of pesto on her lip.
  4218. 4218.
    >After pecking up a chunk of cremini and devouring it, you answered,
  4219. 4219.
    “Past your meadow, to that one mountain. The gnomes left a breadcrumb trail of traps.”
  4220. 4220.
    >”So we’re just going to walk right over to where they want us?”
  4221. 4221.
    >Came the follow up, Aisling peering at you curiously down her black snout, while munching on a spinach leaf.
  4222. 4222.
    “Yep. Usually I’d say we fly over to the foot of the mountain, and just skip all the crap, but if walking along that trail gives us even a chance to kill more of them, in isolated groups, it’s worth it.”
  4223. 4223.
    >She blinked a few times, chewing thoughtfully and looking to the side.
  4224. 4224.
    >Then shrugged.
  4225. 4225.
    >”Alright.”
  4226. 4226.
     
  4227. 4227.
    ##Bad Ideas
  4228. 4228.
     
  4229. 4229.
    >You nodded, and then suddenly, seeing Anon’s head turned towards you, you flicked your head to the right.
  4230. 4230.
    >Just as quickly, Anon looked away, intent on getting her next bite to eat.
  4231. 4231.
    >Her cheeks were all red, probably still cold from the flight over.
  4232. 4232.
    >You frowned and stared at her for a moment, seeing the slight shiver pass down her barrel and flanks, as her horn lit up to float over another sandwich.
  4233. 4233.
    >The winter weather was a problem, not as much for you, but for Aisling and Anonymous.
  4234. 4234.
    >You couldn’t afford having their movements hampered in the middle of the action.
  4235. 4235.
    >So, you cleared your throat, kicked back in your chair, and caught Aisling’s eye again.
  4236. 4236.
    “How long do you think you can make those heat spells last now?”
  4237. 4237.
    >”I unraveled how to visualize a ‘timer’, last time I cast them. I should be able to manage 4 hours, easily.”
  4238. 4238.
    >She answered tartly, popping a cherry tomato into her mouth.
  4239. 4239.
    >That’s what you liked to hear.
  4240. 4240.
    >Aisling even looked properly pleased about it, a slight smile played on her lips, as she chewed.
  4241. 4241.
     
  4242. 4242.
    ///
  4243. 4243.
     
  4244. 4244.
    >You were feeling...
  4245. 4245.
    >Bummed out?
  4246. 4246.
    >Awkward?
  4247. 4247.
    >Left out.
  4248. 4248.
    >Yeah, left out.
  4249. 4249.
    >You ate your sandwich in little nibbles, enjoying the taste, but all the while your gaze kept flicking from Aisling, to Chad, to the floor... To Chad again.
  4250. 4250.
    >He was talking to Aisling, you weren’t really paying attention anymore, something about spells she could use?
  4251. 4251.
    >You took the opportunity to stare at Chad’s face, watching that permanent smirk of his twist and turn with his head, whichever way as he spoke.
  4252. 4252.
    >His paws looked nice to have, all big and flat, flexing idly just above the floorboards.
  4253. 4253.
    >Every now and then Chad would bring them up under himself, and you would get a peek at the pads on them when he laid them down on the wooden seat.
  4254. 4254.
    >His eyes were laser focused on Aisling, but sometimes they landed on you.
  4255. 4255.
    >And every time they did, there was a softening in his expression, a different sort of appraisal behind the gold.
  4256. 4256.
    >Not the same as how he looked at the black, svelte, nice and smart unicorn seated across from him, of course.
  4257. 4257.
    >He had a different look for your dorky, Jenny come lately, “””alicorn””” self...
  4258. 4258.
    >You ruffled your wings while gulping down a piece of mozza, and hastily brushing your mane down the side of your neck.
  4259. 4259.
    >Your hoof lingered on the feather that Chad tucked in behind your ear two flights ago.
  4260. 4260.
    >When was the last time you helped with this gnome fighting stuff?
  4261. 4261.
    >You sighed quietly and looked away from Chad, finally; watching the bird feeder outside of Aisling’s living room window instead.
  4262. 4262.
    >A cardinal was pecking away at the seed under his feet, his back to the feeder, front facing where the blue jays might swoop from to knock him off his perch.
  4263. 4263.
    >...For the whole length of that ‘scouting’ thing with Chad a few minutes ago, you basically just tagged along and said whatever.
  4264. 4264.
    >It... Didn’t pass totally without your contributions, you kept Chad aware about whether it would be a trap or not.
  4265. 4265.
    >But ultimately it’s not like he would have done much different, he just got done telling Aisling that after all, he wanted to pick off as many as possible.
  4266. 4266.
    >So he was going to just bumrush them through whatever ‘lure’ they would have left.
  4267. 4267.
    >Were you just hostage bait now?
  4268. 4268.
    >Is that what Chad was thinking when he looked at you?
  4269. 4269.
    >A second ago, he looked at you while telling Aisling the plan,
  4270. 4270.
    >You had been idly watching him as you had gotten in the habit of lately, but his eyes seemed to catch literally everything, and it caught you by surprise when he suddenly eyed you up instead; made you blush and look away.
  4271. 4271.
    >THAT’S when he brought up the warming spells with Aisling.
  4272. 4272.
    >Fuck, he really was worried about you.
  4273. 4273.
    >Fuck.
  4274. 4274.
    >You groaned...
  4275. 4275.
    >”Anon?”
  4276. 4276.
    >But not quietly enough.
  4277. 4277.
    >Quickly, you put on a neutral little smile, and swallowed your cheese, turning to face Chad.
  4278. 4278.
    >He had his head tilted at a fourty five, left, then right, peering down at you with that same softened look he’d been giving you all lunch.
  4279. 4279.
     
  4280. 4280.
    >His head was making the same sort of motions as the cardinal outside was, while looking at seeds, which made you smile a little more naturally with amusement at least.
  4281. 4281.
    >”You alright?”
  4282. 4282.
    “Yeah, I’m cool, just really like the sandwiches.”
  4283. 4283.
    >You looked at Aisling, and she smiled back at you as you nodded your approval.
  4284. 4284.
    “Thanks for ‘em.”
  4285. 4285.
    >”You are welcome.”
  4286. 4286.
    >Now everything was quiet again, thankfully.
  4287. 4287.
    >You looked away, breathing out soft through your nose.
  4288. 4288.
    >The cardinal was gone, there were about five blue jays hogging the feeder-
  4289. 4289.
    >”Anonymous.”
  4290. 4290.
    >Blinking, you turned to look at Aisling.
  4291. 4291.
    >Her mane was draped across her face, covering one eye, as she leaned across the table, arching her neck.
  4292. 4292.
    >Aisling’s horn lit up, and out of your peripheral, you saw a glimmer of turquoise to match.
  4293. 4293.
    >A half of a cherry tomato floated off of your cheek, and you frowned.
  4294. 4294.
    >Then you thrust your whole head forward, chomping the red hemisphere out of the air just centimeters in front of that smug mare’s mouth.
  4295. 4295.
    “Mine.”
  4296. 4296.
    >You grunted out, staring with as much territorial fierceness as a pony’s face could manage, into Aisling’s eyes.
  4297. 4297.
    >Her smile flattened maybe a millimeter, then her pupils dilated, and locked on something from behind your-
  4298. 4298.
    >An inexorable forced pressed down on your head, and you couldn’t see, hear, or understand a damn thing.
  4299. 4299.
    “Ahggk!”
  4300. 4300.
    >Your bangs were sent tumbling around your face and your chin was nearly shoved into the table.
  4301. 4301.
    >Talons raked along your scalp, and the occasional glimpse of piercing gold eyes was all you could manage to see between the platinum strands.
  4302. 4302.
    >You grumbled and went to reach up with your fore hooves, nearly tumbling out of your chair for the trouble as you finally picked out that telltale start-stop laugh of the griffon next to you.
  4303. 4303.
    “H-hey!”
  4304. 4304.
    >Was all you could sputter out, before all the mussing and fussing suddenly quit, replaced just as fast with the most soothing scratches behind your ears.
  4305. 4305.
    “Hey...”
  4306. 4306.
    >One last trembling tug at his scaly arm, before you shivered and went limp, hunched over in your chair with a sulking pout.
  4307. 4307.
    >Couldn’t see a damn thing, but fuck if you were going to let this stupid griffon and snooty unicorn see you blushing so hard, so you left your mane all askance.
  4308. 4308.
    >Chad’s talons found every little spot he knew you loved.
  4309. 4309.
    >”You were jealous huh, cause I was petting the other bookworm in my life, for about five minutes more than you today?”
  4310. 4310.
    >A laugh bubbled up in your throat, just to get killed by a soft whimper as your ear was suddenly rubbed back flat against your head.
  4311. 4311.
    >It was hard to talk.
  4312. 4312.
    “N-no, I felt-”
  4313. 4313.
    >The mussing started up again, Chad bobbed your head around like a doll’s, chuckling.
  4314. 4314.
    >”I told you, you do the thinking. I do the shooting. You already did the thinking. Don’t get all fucked up in your head on me, bro.”
  4315. 4315.
     
  4316. 4316.
    >You grit your teeth, blew your bangs out of your eyes, and just as soon as you had a bead on Chad you lanced one of your hind legs flat in your seat, and kicked that fucker right between the legs.
  4317. 4317.
    “Consider the favor payed.”
  4318. 4318.
    >Your tongue stuck out past your lips as you saw his eyes blow wide with shock, then water.
  4319. 4319.
    >Instantly, he snagged your tongue around one of his talons and started yanking, making your mouth pop open like a wind up toy.
  4320. 4320.
    “Aghh... Asshghhsole..! Staaahp!”
  4321. 4321.
    >”Dumb... Horse...”
  4322. 4322.
    >Chad panted out, his beak agape and his tongue lolling out, as his eyes rolled once in his head from a wave of pain before clipping to you again.
  4323. 4323.
    >You wrapped your forelegs around Chad’s scaly limb, but his hold was like iron, tugging your tongue up and forcing you to arch your neck.
  4324. 4324.
    >Aisling just smiled, eyes half-lidded and eyebrows raised, and slid off of her chair, floating away all the dishes in a constellation behind her.
  4325. 4325.
    “Aishhhling haalp!”
  4326. 4326.
    >You cried out.
  4327. 4327.
    >Her silvery tail gave one molten flick before she disappeared around the counter, humming a tune as she ran the sink.
  4328. 4328.
    >Suddenly Chad’s other fore foot got involved, and he started poking you in the ribs with a talon, making your whole body twitch and wince.
  4329. 4329.
    >You narrowed your eyes, even as you struggled, and went for an axe kick with your hind hoof to his tail, pinning it flat against the chair.
  4330. 4330.
    >That got Chad to release you, finally, bringing everything back to nurse his spasming appendage while muttering expletives.
  4331. 4331.
    >Your tongue was dry, and it felt like it was nearly about to fall off, so you huffed, rolling it around in your mouth like you were trying to re-attach it somehow.
  4332. 4332.
    >You and the griffon sulked over your war wounds for a minute, not looking at each other.
  4333. 4333.
    >..Then the both of you gave each other the evil eye... and finally laughed.
  4334. 4334.
    “With friends like us, I don’t know why the gnomes even bother.”
  4335. 4335.
    >”’Cause you’re too puny to put a real dent in my bird-cat ass, they gotta get involved.”
  4336. 4336.
    >Chad quips back, while licking flat the ruffled gray fur where you slammed his tail.
  4337. 4337.
    >You just giggled, and hopped out of your seat, stretching your legs and smacking your lips.
  4338. 4338.
    “Well whatever wants you dead is out of luck then, I don’t think the gnomes could put a dent in your thick skull either.”
  4339. 4339.
    >”That seems to be a widely accepted consensus.”
  4340. 4340.
    >Aisling chirped from the kitchen, making Chad shake his head and grin, feathers puffing out with pure ego.
  4341. 4341.
    >”Alright, alright, we’re eaten, we’re salted. Let’s get a move on already we’re burning daylight too.”
  4342. 4342.
    >Chad replied, and you watched, as the griffon got up.
  4343. 4343.
    >He set his forelegs down, claws clicking on the wood and then his paws quietly followed.
  4344. 4344.
    >With a full arch to his back, front down and hindquarters level, Chad yawned.
  4345. 4345.
    >His tail was up straight and trembling in the distinctly feline stretch.
  4346. 4346.
    >It made you want to run a hoof along his back, but that would probably get you another round of tongue pulling, so you let it be.
  4347. 4347.
     
  4348. 4348.
     
  4349. 4349.
    ## Go out
  4350. 4350.
     
  4351. 4351.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QmPCrC7uXw
  4352. 4352.
    >You turned your mind to the task ahead.
  4353. 4353.
    >And, thinking on it, it was probably best if you didn’t bother with weapons.
  4354. 4354.
    >Your telekinesis was not up to snuff, Aisling could make much better use of anything you thought of taking along.
  4355. 4355.
    >And whatever you did bring would just be another thing for Chad to think about, which ran contrary to the whole way the three of you had decided to run this.
  4356. 4356.
    “Chad, I’m gonna follow behind you, and hoof whatever gets close.”
  4357. 4357.
    >”Sounds good bud.”
  4358. 4358.
    >Chad answered immediately, patting you once on the back as he passed, going to the couch to sit on his haunches and wait while Aisling finished up.
  4359. 4359.
    >Right as the griffon curled his gray tail around himself, a flickering length of chrome flashed through the air soundlessly before halting in his clutches.
  4360. 4360.
    >Fuck that was a big Bowie.
  4361. 4361.
    >The griffon’s eyes glittered looking at it, then his gaze slid left to Aisling.
  4362. 4362.
    >She was trotting out from behind the counter, having become the incarnated contravention of every parental warning ever uttered in the kitchen.
  4363. 4363.
    >Seven knives floated around her in interweaving formations, stars, circles, a spiral...
  4364. 4364.
    >Aisling did not even have to look at them, she walked with her usual poise, one fore hoof in front of the other like she was showing off a new dress.
  4365. 4365.
    >Then with a series of soft, silky metal on metal sounds, the knives all met, and slid quietly into a pouch strapped around her black barrel.
  4366. 4366.
    >Yeah, this is exactly why there was no point to you carrying anything.
  4367. 4367.
    “Where do you get off, being so competent huh?”
  4368. 4368.
    >You snapped at Aisling, clopping one steel hoof in mild annoyance, before wandering over towards Chad.
  4369. 4369.
    “Cut this idiot’s pads off or something.”
  4370. 4370.
    >Came your addition, as you laughed and held up one of Chad’s big paws, squishing it around in your magic.
  4371. 4371.
    >Chad for his part, just looked down in mild bemusement while Aisling smiled and trotted past you to the door.
  4372. 4372.
    >You felt a wave of delicious fireside warmth come over your whole body, when the turquoise glow of the night mare’s horn flickered in your view.
  4373. 4373.
    >”It is time to go.”
  4374. 4374.
    >Aisling intoned as she opened the door, and hopped off her porch into the snow, turning to look up at you plus Chad.
  4375. 4375.
    >Her mane flung wide in a sudden gust, caught in the sun overhead and flashed silver in your eyes; blinding you for a second.
  4376. 4376.
    >As soon as you had blinked it away, Chad’s furry hindquarters were in front of you, his tail flicking from side to side as he strapped on his rifle.
  4377. 4377.
    >His eyes were razor sharp once more, peering back at himself, and his beak clicked together rhythmically.
  4378. 4378.
    >You hated that he had to look so serious.
  4379. 4379.
    “You gonna grab a smoke from your car? I know you have extras.”
  4380. 4380.
    >Chad’s eyes dilated in the shade of the porch and affixed you, as he turned his head with a sudden hush to his demeanor.
  4381. 4381.
    >He tapped his beak with a talon, at his nares.
  4382. 4382.
    “...Right, the smell.”
  4383. 4383.
     
  4384. 4384.
    >”We’re going to keep as quiet as possible too, at least for the first while. No chatting. It probably doesn’t make too much of a difference but there’s no point in making things terminally easy for them. We may just distract each other.”
  4385. 4385.
    >With a slight sigh, you nodded, and then brushed the bit of mane that fell over your eyes from the motion.
  4386. 4386.
    >Your wings shuffled on your back, and your nostrils flared as you stepped out after Chad into the snow, again.
  4387. 4387.
    >The walk over to the edge of the forest seemed to last no time at all.
  4388. 4388.
    >Aisling kept abreast of Chad, on his left and behind, while you stayed right and behind.
  4389. 4389.
    >There was a dreamy silence about the world in places muffled by unfrozen powder, in others, stray creaks of the wooden limbs above you reverberated oddly on crusted ice.
  4390. 4390.
    >Pine and spruce boughs leaned heavy, dead still pendulums hanging over your head.
  4391. 4391.
    >The mountain loomed far away, and then seemed to just blend apart as you passed under tree cover.
  4392. 4392.
    >There was not a single track anywhere, no paw prints, no boot prints, no hoof prints.
  4393. 4393.
    >Nothing. The entire white floor of the forest was as virgin as a fresh fall.
  4394. 4394.
    >Chad’s hybrid gait crunched and padded along as quietly as he could manage, but still it sounded like a running tractor tread.
  4395. 4395.
    >You kept your left side in his prints to spare some of the noise, your shining shoes softly sinking into the already broken snow.
  4396. 4396.
    >Your eyes were everywhere, but not really registering much, while your perked ears found no other sound to track but the movement of your griffon friend, and your mare other friend.
  4397. 4397.
    >...So you looked at Chad.
  4398. 4398.
    >The way his body cut through the snow, his golden focus honed forward, prowling.
  4399. 4399.
    >His haunches heaved up, and his heavy feathery shoulders took turns inevitably driving his talons down through the ice.
  4400. 4400.
    >It was like he thought about every si- he cleared leather.
  4401. 4401.
    >Chad hoisted up his rifle with a soft rustle of the strap on his fur, and you stopped instantly along with Aisling, flopping your ears flat to your head.
  4402. 4402.
    >In a motion that was so suddenly odd to you, like a puppet being raised on its strings: the griffon rose to his hind legs seamlessly.
  4403. 4403.
    >His paws were already splayed correctly as he had been walking along, and his tail only had to raise a few inches to balance him.
  4404. 4404.
    >One big puff of steam left the predator’s beak as he shouldered the rifle into his downy feathers, then his talon looped naturally into the trigger guard-
  4405. 4405.
    >CRACK.
  4406. 4406.
    >Thump, roll.
  4407. 4407.
    >Your eyes locked to the motion before your head spun to look, 50 yards down the line.
  4408. 4408.
    >Dead gnome, a flare of crimson, spurting arterial, and Chad’s old knife stabbed into the ice.
  4409. 4409.
    >...Huff, came Chad’s inhale, as the rifle slid onto his back and he got on all fours again.
  4410. 4410.
    >You blinked a few times, not really registering what had just happened.
  4411. 4411.
    >There was the gnome, lying in a heap on his side and clutching the ruined mess of a little crossbow.
  4412. 4412.
     
  4413. 4413.
    >Blood spurted twice more from some hole somewhere in his upper body, melting a small trench in the snow before it all stopped.
  4414. 4414.
    >The breeze picked up again, and made the gnome’s pointy red hat roll away behind a fallen pine bough, but that was it.
  4415. 4415.
    >Dead gnome.
  4416. 4416.
    >The now dim crunch of Chad moving again woke you from your reverie.
  4417. 4417.
    >You had fallen ten paces behind.
  4418. 4418.
    >So you caught up, hooves going in the broken snow once more.
  4419. 4419.
    >The walk continued, inexorably, towards the corpse.
  4420. 4420.
    >Though Chad curved a couple meters around what you assumed must be some trap, the edges of which he pointed out with his extended talon.
  4421. 4421.
    >”Knife is a trap too.”
  4422. 4422.
    >Came his voice, without a single shiver or stutter, not quiet and not conversational.
  4423. 4423.
    >Aisling nodded, her silvery mane shifting around.
  4424. 4424.
    >So you did too.
  4425. 4425.
    >How much did the gnomes really know anyway?
  4426. 4426.
    >What were they capable of actually?
  4427. 4427.
    >You thought, as Chad led you and Aisling around another wide circle before coming to a halt by the dead gnome.
  4428. 4428.
    >In a deliberate and quiet motion, the griffon clutched his big Bowie in one set of talons and drove it into the little un-man’s back where its heart should be.
  4429. 4429.
    >It slid in seamlessly, releasing a slow leak of more red ichor.
  4430. 4430.
    >Chad wiped it off on the gnome’s tunic, before tucking the knife away.
  4431. 4431.
    >His expression never changed, he didn’t even look at the gnome’s face or where the knife went in, instead Chad had his eyes locked on a spruce some 40 yards away.
  4432. 4432.
    >The gnome had one eye shut, tongue out, taking aim.
  4433. 4433.
    >Completely black iris and pupils, it was like there was no iris at all.
  4434. 4434.
    >Made you shiver, and look away.
  4435. 4435.
    >While Chad’s golden eyes darted around intently and his head tilted round with a raptor’s predatory intent, you re-realized that he had almost definitely thought of all those things before you did.
  4436. 4436.
    >What the gnomes may know, or be able to do, he had thought of all that way before the three of you stepped into the woods again.
  4437. 4437.
    >And this was what it meant; a clean kill immediately, even amidst every disadvantage.
  4438. 4438.
    >You smiled, and had to hold back a snort of laughter.
  4439. 4439.
    >Aisling was holding a hoof delicately up to her fancifully curling lips.
  4440. 4440.
    >He may be a fucking mythological creature shooting a rifle at little men in red hats but somehow that was still Chad.
  4441. 4441.
    >...Who started on walking ahead again, raising an eyebrow at the both of you for half a second before he preoccupied himself with more serious things to look at than two mares suppressing giggles over a bleeding body.
  4442. 4442.
    >It was like this whole thing was the punchline to Chad’s over preparedness and paranoia.
  4443. 4443.
    >You followed after him, and rather than feeling that dreamlike disembodiment from before, you felt at ease.
  4444. 4444.
    >Each hoof followed through intently, and the warming spell felt nice as a bulwark against the chill around you.
  4445. 4445.
    >Progress though, noticeably slowed as the three of you moved on.
  4446. 4446.
     
  4447. 4447.
     
  4448. 4448.
    ## Kill
  4449. 4449.
     
  4450. 4450.
     
  4451. 4451.
    >Every few feet or so, Chad was stopping, looking around very carefully at everything, before plodding on in a careful and circuitous route around every trap.
  4452. 4452.
    >For your part, you couldn’t see any of them.
  4453. 4453.
    >Sometimes you’d spot a thread across the ground, or maybe notice how the snow sloped unnaturally.
  4454. 4454.
    >But really it felt like the times you would play pretend in middle school.
  4455. 4455.
    >That said, you had all the time to look behind the group, and keep watch around fallen logs and dense bits of brush.
  4456. 4456.
    >Without being too-
  4457. 4457.
    >Hat.
  4458. 4458.
    >Just for half a moment, you spotted a blur of a pointy hat, and the dull gray of a stone dagger against the snow glare stuck out in your mind.
  4459. 4459.
    >Instantly you tapped Chad’s shoulder with a wing, and he was already moving before your feathers brushed his, standing.
  4460. 4460.
    >But then his head whipped left, and you saw it too.
  4461. 4461.
    >There must have been a dozen pointy-capped freaks over there, mustering fast, darting around trunks and bursting from the roots.
  4462. 4462.
    >Aisling’s entire body was glowing with that magic of hers, knives all bristling around her like a telekinetic porcupine.
  4463. 4463.
    >Chad was up to his full height, rifle shouldered.
  4464. 4464.
    >CRACK, CRACK, CRACK.
  4465. 4465.
    >-And three bodies were rolling in red before you took up position directly behind him, planting all four hooves in the pine needles and snow.
  4466. 4466.
    >In that same moment, there was a green blur on your right hoof side.
  4467. 4467.
    >You struck out before even thinking about it, spinning on yourself and lethally pistoning your hind legs into the offending presence.
  4468. 4468.
    >Your steel shod hooves crunched into the gnome’s skull, sending his hat flying along with that part of his scalp.
  4469. 4469.
    >In the next moment, another gnome armed with a fish hook spear, bonelessly flopped against your flank, running a trail of blood down across your broken keyboard mark.
  4470. 4470.
    >There was a knife in his back, aglow with magic, that gently lifted out before zipping away across the forest floor to pierce the hand of a new gnome pinning him to a tree.
  4471. 4471.
    >A second knife followed into his throat.
  4472. 4472.
    >CRACK, CRACK, CRACK.
  4473. 4473.
    >In that same beat after Chad took out another three on the horizon and you turned to look, there were suddenly gnomes everywhere in front of you.
  4474. 4474.
    >You could hardly register anything else now, every other moment a little un-man would burst into your space trying to get at Chad from behind.
  4475. 4475.
    >Without pause, you had to keep all four hooves moving.
  4476. 4476.
    >One gnome dashed against your fetlock, clinging to you for a heart wrenching moment with a spear driving at your throat before you slammed your free hoof into his face, feeling his whole body crumple under the force.
  4477. 4477.
    >Before you kicked his corpse away, another with a bushy beard leaped in your face, making you recoil.
  4478. 4478.
    >You reared your head back and lifted up on your hind legs, letting out a sharp huff as you hammered your forehoof into him, wincing when a rock struck your ribs at the same time.
  4479. 4479.
     
  4480. 4480.
    >When you turned to look, the gnome holding the sling that threw it was already dying, clutching at a hole through his chest.
  4481. 4481.
    >Chad’s gun sang endlessly.
  4482. 4482.
    >And you kept your back to his, your silky tail tangling with his bottle brush so that you knew you hadn’t lost him in the melee.
  4483. 4483.
    >A glance to your right when you brought a hoof crashing down onto a screeching gnome’s back, plastering him to a rock and collapsing his rib cage, revealed Aisling was still close.
  4484. 4484.
    >Thank God she was.
  4485. 4485.
    >Her mane was a silver swirl all around her head, tail raised with a perfect showroom grace while she stood on the clean edges of her platinum hooves.
  4486. 4486.
    >There was a semi-circle of some thirty dead and dying little non-men in front of her, and she seemed hardly to be looking at what she struck out against.
  4487. 4487.
    >The whole expanse was splattered in red.
  4488. 4488.
    >Her eyes were glowing in half traced patterns of silver that effaced themselves before starting into another array of mathematical perfection.
  4489. 4489.
    >The knives swept through the air in front of her in a bubble of death where her horn pointed, only to occasionally break from each other like a flock of starlings darting around, killing indiscriminately in the growing crowd beyond.
  4490. 4490.
    >But the gnomes kept coming, and you were starting to sweat.
  4491. 4491.
    >Steam lofted off of your furry body as you punched out your wings with a scream to bash away five of the fuckers that came at you all in one charge.
  4492. 4492.
    >It was like they were literally popping up out of the ground.
  4493. 4493.
    >”THEY’RE COMING OUT OF THE GROUND.”
  4494. 4494.
    >Chad screeched in warning, before you felt rather than saw his wings burst from his back and carry him skyward.
  4495. 4495.
    >So you leaped on top of a charging gnome without another thought, pelting him headlong into a stump while flapping your wings once to get airborne.
  4496. 4496.
    >In the next moment, a heavy set of talons pounded down on your back to forcefully keep you from flying left, and immediately you registered it as Chad steering you away from some booby trap in the air.
  4497. 4497.
    >But you were too astonished to look at Chad right now, your eyes were glued to the forest floor.
  4498. 4498.
    >It was all gnomes.
  4499. 4499.
    >ALL gnomes.
  4500. 4500.
    >Guffawing, snarling, or dead quiet, all moving, seemingly having phased right up out of the snow and the dirt.
  4501. 4501.
    >Chad put away his gun.
  4502. 4502.
    >”Fuck.”
  4503. 4503.
    >Aisling was tucked under his foreleg, her legs dangling while she peered down at the horde with a placid expression.
  4504. 4504.
    >Her knives were weaving through the crowd while she spoke, killing and maiming but it was like pointing lots of magnifying glasses at a whole anthill.
  4505. 4505.
    >”Why did they not do this before?”
  4506. 4506.
    “False sense of security?”
  4507. 4507.
    >You suggested, hovering in place with the occasional wing beat.
  4508. 4508.
    >Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a log hung up in a maple tree, and you nudged it with a burst of magic.
  4509. 4509.
    >It rolled into the gnomes, smothering five or so before stopping on a boulder.
  4510. 4510.
    >A volley of tiny crossbow bolts seethed up from the mass, but Chad misdirected the whole lot of them with a thunderous wing beat.
  4511. 4511.
     
  4512. 4512.
    >”I don’t get it either. The traps are obvious, the numbers advantage is stupid. Maybe they don’t really give a shit because they already turned everyone into ponies?”
  4513. 4513.
    >”...I think they just do not want us to reach Clapperleg.”
  4514. 4514.
    >Aisling responded quietly, blinking.
  4515. 4515.
    “They don’t care about casualties.”
  4516. 4516.
    >You noted, to add to her suggestion, watching as the gnomes just flat out triggered their own traps, tumbling over each other.
  4517. 4517.
    >Weaved wooden walls of spikes swept the crowd, more logs rolled down into it, boulders tumbled with rumbles and sharp cracks.
  4518. 4518.
    >The triggered traps radiated in a straight line to the mountain like a big Rube Goldberg machine, making all that work seemingly pointless.
  4519. 4519.
    >And in the aftermath it didn’t seem to matter at all.
  4520. 4520.
    >They roiled over the forest floor, starting to climb the trees now.
  4521. 4521.
    “Chad?”
  4522. 4522.
    >”Yeah, fuck this.”
  4523. 4523.
    >He flapped his rusty wings and rose above the treeline before setting into a gentler glide, while Aisling retrieved her knives and lay flopped in his talons for a moment, before the griffon scooped her into his chest properly.
  4524. 4524.
    >You followed, smashing one gnome in the chest with a forehoof as you went up through the branches, then another, before bounding off of an outstretched birch limb to take to the sky.
  4525. 4525.
    >There was a collective cry of disappointment from the enemies left in the snow.
  4526. 4526.
    >Catching up with Chad, he was intent on the mountain ahead, following the trail of set off traps straight as an arrow.
  4527. 4527.
    “Shit.”
  4528. 4528.
    >...He hadn’t deflected all those bolts earlier.
  4529. 4529.
    >There were five of them in his chest and Aisling was already busy picking them out, her half-lidded eyes slowly switching from the weeping wounds to Chad’s face.
  4530. 4530.
    “You alright?”
  4531. 4531.
    >”They weren’t poisoned.”
  4532. 4532.
    >Chad grunted back at you, his pupils dilating as they spotted something.
  4533. 4533.
    >”River ahead. We should touch down there and cross it on paw and hoof. I think I’m getting the idea of what kind of bullshit they’re doing.”
  4534. 4534.
    “What?”
  4535. 4535.
    >You asked breathlessly as the both of you swept forward across the sea of bare tree limbs.
  4536. 4536.
    >Your best friend stared straight ahead, eyes narrowing to a fine and sharp point on the horizon.
  4537. 4537.
    >Aisling plucked the last bolt out, and Chad’s beak clicked in response, before he pointed at one of his perfect golden orbs with a jutted out talon and answered you,
  4538. 4538.
    >”I didn’t see a single fucking gnome appear.”
  4539. 4539.
    >?
  4540. 4540.
    >So, what?
  4541. 4541.
    >While she pressed her face in close, peering all around your body to check for wounds, Aisling answered.
  4542. 4542.
    >”He has perfect vision. Meaning whatever they’re doing bypasses eyesight.”
  4543. 4543.
    >...She had a scent, it was nice. Lavender or something.
  4544. 4544.
    “Peripheral vision.”
  4545. 4545.
    >You slapped out instantly, your knowledge of the Nisse flashing through your memories.
  4546. 4546.
    >Chad eyed you sidelong, held a glide and started reloading his gun with his free talons while he listened.
  4547. 4547.
    “The whole ‘root’ of their myth is about appearing in your peripheral vision, and vanishing as soon as you really try to look at them.”
  4548. 4548.
    >”But we can see them.”
  4549. 4549.
     
  4550. 4550.
    >The mare at your flank softly intoned, crawling over Chad’s neck as she leaned in and planted a bandaid on the bleeding wound cut into your mashed keyboard mark.
  4551. 4551.
    >”So, modified rules.”
  4552. 4552.
    >Came Chad’s suggestion, while he softly clicked bullet after bullet into a magazine.
  4553. 4553.
    >His eyes darted around down at ground level.
  4554. 4554.
    >You nodded, and sniffed at the air for anything suspicious while flapping to get your altitude again.
  4555. 4555.
    >But the smell of gunpowder was too overwhelming so you gave up.
  4556. 4556.
    “They can only teleport when you’re not seeing them, so they’re coming up out of every blindspot at once.”
  4557. 4557.
    >Immediately after you spoke Chad’s beak clacked loudly, and you heard a long low hiss escape his nares.
  4558. 4558.
    >”We were in a hollow. Fuck, that’s why, there was a blind ridge all the way around, can’t have been more than half a foot deep...”
  4559. 4559.
    >The griffon chuffed and slung his rifle over his back, staring at you with his eyes narrowed in exasperation.
  4560. 4560.
    >”So, from anywhere basically.”
  4561. 4561.
    >He qualified.
  4562. 4562.
    >You took a deep breath and flapped again, feeling restless.
  4563. 4563.
    >Your eyes darted everywhere out of a new reflex.
  4564. 4564.
    >But it was just empty winter forest, the trees hanging in low and starting to get wet from the gradual melt in the late afternoon sun.
  4565. 4565.
    “...Yeah.”
  4566. 4566.
    >Talons ruffled through the hair on your head and Chad soared ahead, his beak in an uncharacteristic downturn but his eyes still sharp.
  4567. 4567.
    >”Well fuck it. Nothing to do about it. We can fly, they can’t. We’ll just keep walking after the river to save energy, kill as many of them as possible with as little risk and exertion as we can manage. Fly away when it gets stupid. That will make it easier to confront Clapperleg if it comes to a prolonged fight, so he can’t just toss infinite losers at us.”
  4568. 4568.
    >There was so much you didn’t know.
  4569. 4569.
    >Would that really help?
  4570. 4570.
    >What if there was just... An infinite amount of them?
  4571. 4571.
    >What if they could come back after ‘killing’ them?
  4572. 4572.
    >What-
  4573. 4573.
    >You flinched and blinked rapidly as a sudden dull sting struck the end of your muzzle.
  4574. 4574.
    >The first thing that caught your attention was how Aisling’s eyes stared at you from over Chad’s shoulder, half lidded with one pristine brow raised, sparkling with the glow cast from her horn.
  4575. 4575.
    >Her lips pressed slowly into a smirk when you looked at her, and there was a seafoam blue hand in front of your face, index outstretched.
  4576. 4576.
     
  4577. 4577.
    ////
  4578. 4578.
     
  4579. 4579.
    >Anonymous was becoming demoralized, Chad was frustrated and thinking of past mistakes.
  4580. 4580.
    >You thought to yourself, smiling back at the white alicorn flapping to regain the height she lost in her moment of inattention.
  4581. 4581.
    >She let out a barking laugh as your summoned hand dissipated, then grinned and summoned her own, rough hewn and white at the end of her forehoof; shaped like a thumbs up.
  4582. 4582.
    >Her ears were flopping around ridiculously in the wind with her unruly blonde mane.
  4583. 4583.
    >You stuck your tongue out an inch in response, before facing forward again.
  4584. 4584.
    >This was much nicer than the last flight, trying to cling to Chad’s back.
  4585. 4585.
    >Instead his foreleg held you snugly to his chest, pressed into the warm down, though you couldn’t help feeling like a mouse when those talons scraped over your flanks.
  4586. 4586.
    >Chad’s eyes slid across your face for just a second before returning to their constant intimidating scan of the terrain.
  4587. 4587.
    >After a beat, you spoke up,
  4588. 4588.
    “You remembered when Cichol teleported.”
  4589. 4589.
    >”If I had just been fucking smart enough to listen to Anon’s info about gnomes instead of denying they existed-”
  4590. 4590.
    “-Then we would have sat in the woods for three hours listening, I would have expended much more magic to keep us from freezing, so the gnomes would have just come to offer us blankets instead.”
  4591. 4591.
    >You finished primly with total nonsense, bobbing one of your forehooves around for emphasis.
  4592. 4592.
    >For a moment there was just the whistling wind, and you brushed aside the silver locks of your mane when it flapped in front of your eyes.
  4593. 4593.
    >Then Chad’s beak fell open and the one gilded eye that faced you narrowed as he peered down with indignant confusion.
  4594. 4594.
    >”That’s... That’s not even close to what would have happened.”
  4595. 4595.
    “It is as close to reality as what you are suggesting.”
  4596. 4596.
    >At that his beak snapped shut, and his eyes went to the ground again, wordlessly.
  4597. 4597.
    >The ensuing minutes were silent, you could feel the tension in his chest through the fluffy feathers, though his gentle yet insistent grasp of you never changed.
  4598. 4598.
    “Have either of you ever thought about how what you are doing now is exactly the right thing to do? Rather than thinking about all the ways what you are doing could be wrong?”
  4599. 4599.
    >You raised your voice to ask, smiling honestly.
  4600. 4600.
    “Have you thought for example, that maybe why there were so many of them all of a sudden... Is because killing Cichol will genuinely solve everything? That instead of there being too many gnomes for us to defeat, that what we are seeing is their full force reaction to an existential threat? Which we handled adequately before retreating sensibly.”
  4601. 4601.
    >Chad grunted, and you gasped as his talons gave your thigh an absolutely inappropriate squeeze, denting into the firm flesh.
  4602. 4602.
    >Instantly you delivered a cruel uppercut to the underside of his beak with your hind hoof, but he just laughed.
  4603. 4603.
    >”Sorry, sorry, it was an accident, seriously...”
  4604. 4604.
     
  4605. 4605.
    >He apologized in a low tone, still focused on watching the ground, then he replied more seriously when his eye flashed to you again.
  4606. 4606.
    >”Nope.”
  4607. 4607.
    >You rolled your eyes and threw your head back in an utterly exasperated sigh, while Anonymous giggled in the background.
  4608. 4608.
    >”Yeah, they didn’t look like... Winners. I mean it slipped out of your mouth earlier Chad, endless losers. Think about how many we just killed, and nothing stopped us. I think your plan was just really really good.”
  4609. 4609.
    >She smiled, her teeth sparkling, white wings flapping once and loosing a single feather that floated in the air trapped under her, before fluttering away.
  4610. 4610.
    >”Last time they just caught you off guard. I mean you didn’t even know gnomes existed until the second you first saw them.”
  4611. 4611.
    >If Chad was truly mollified by all this reasoning between you and Anonymous, he didn’t show it on his face.
  4612. 4612.
    >But you felt it in how his muscles finally relaxed again, and his talons held you more delicately, less like he was pressing you into himself to protect you.
  4613. 4613.
    >More like holding you up, on the inflection point of his nails before their sharp ends.
  4614. 4614.
     
  4615. 4615.
     
  4616. 4616.
    ##
  4617. 4617.
     
  4618. 4618.
     
  4619. 4619.
    >After a few minutes of silence, Chad finally rounded on the river he had pointed out earlier.
  4620. 4620.
    >You watched his right wing tilt downwards, dumping the air that held him aloft, and your mane swept around your head the moment the controlled spiraling descent began.
  4621. 4621.
    >As you raised a hoof to get your silver locks out of your eyes, Anonymous came into view.
  4622. 4622.
    >Her fur glittered like fallen snow, the ends of the feathers of one white wing cupping the sky while the other wing, to the inside of the spiral maneuver, was held out in a solid straight line to manipulate the glide.
  4623. 4623.
    >Your eyes were drawn by the curve of Anon’s body down to the river, which had broken from its icy state some time in all the afternoon sunshine, so that a continuous ribbon of water flowed between the frozen edges set in its banks.
  4624. 4624.
    >Chad touched down much more gracefully than he had the last time you had flown with him, and deposited you on all four hooves in the snow.
  4625. 4625.
    >The feeling of being on solid ground again was more noticeable than you figured it would be.
  4626. 4626.
    >You smiled, it was actually a nice thing to be picked up and flown around when the griffon who was flying was being conscientious about what he did with you.
  4627. 4627.
    “So you do have manners.”
  4628. 4628.
    >Came your comment with curved lips, as you casted another warming spell on Chad.
  4629. 4629.
    >”I’m a regular gentlegriffon. Now cross the river.”
  4630. 4630.
    >Was Chad’s gruff return, hitching up his gun and walking over to the riverbank, where the terrain dipped.
  4631. 4631.
    >Anonymous trotted up, tilting her head to the left at the griffon as she ruffled and folded her wings away.
  4632. 4632.
    >”Why though? The gnomes seem to be able to find us no matter what.”
  4633. 4633.
    >Chad didn’t answer, he just padded down onto the ice and stared up past you and Anon beside you with his pupils dilated, head rotating with that usual raptor like inquisitiveness.
  4634. 4634.
    >There wasn’t any expectation in his look, no raised eyebrows.
  4635. 4635.
    >You followed after a moment, looking at your hooves as they sunk through the wet snow at the water’s edge, and Anonymous followed.
  4636. 4636.
    >It was once you stepped down onto the ice that you looked back and actually thought about what the three of you were doing.
  4637. 4637.
    >A blind crest, the bank of the river on this side sank down in front of a hollow of pine trees, so that it eventually created a blind crest once you stood in the water.
  4638. 4638.
    >You turned your head and looked across, the other bank was a sheer face where the river wound into a rocky and rooted knoll.
  4639. 4639.
    >Mm. How cruel.
  4640. 4640.
    >You thought to yourself, curling your mouth up when you turned your eyes on Chad, though of course he never spared you a glance.
  4641. 4641.
    >Anonymous spoke up in a bemused voice,
  4642. 4642.
    >”So are we gonna cr-”
  4643. 4643.
    >Mid sentence you felt a scaly foreleg rub against your barrel before being yanked up into the air when the wind pressure burst over your face.
  4644. 4644.
    >Chad put out one great flap, and with that he hauled you and Anonymous up, flying backwards onto the sheer embankment before setting you down an instant later.
  4645. 4645.
    >As soon as you landed you focused your thoughts on defying gravity, on whisking the blades strapped into your pouch to wherever a gnome may desire them to be the least, and the metallic surface of your horn came to life with that magical glow you had long become accustomed to.
  4646. 4646.
    >Dozens and dozens of pointed hats crested what had been a blindspot for all three of you just a few seconds ago.
  4647. 4647.
    >Dozens and dozens of little faces stared with gleeful violent intent for just a moment before it evaporated into shock.
  4648. 4648.
    >The river was fast, cold, and utterly impassible to them, while the height of the embankment you were standing on eliminated any blind spots to hide in to teleport away.
  4649. 4649.
    >The nearest cover was 3 yards away, practically on the other side of the world for the stride length of a gnome.
  4650. 4650.
    >You heard Anonymous laughing, and saw her white hoof pointing past your head as Chad began to empty his gun on them.
  4651. 4651.
    >Tilted just 30 degrees up, you brought a knife slashing across a line up of six that hadn’t had the sense yet to turn and run, slitting their throats.
  4652. 4652.
    >Your other knives sailed individually in straight lines to the ones that had broken off, dashing for the safety of the pine trunks behind them, and you aimed for the upper portions of their backs, sliding cleanly between the shoulder bones to strike the wilted heart before slicking off to the next gnome.
  4653. 4653.
    >All the while Chad’s gun was like a thunderstorm in your right ear, and the ashy tang of all the spent gunpowder tickled your nose.
  4654. 4654.
    >You had to steep forward and aside as the cloud of smoke started to gather in your position, so you could hone your eyes on the hapless saps across the water.
  4655. 4655.
    >Your technique was improving quickly, those first few stabs in the initial melee before this had been weak and non-committal, and you hadn’t had a full sense for how best to take advantage of a totally free floating blade.
  4656. 4656.
    >So you had just sort of treated your knives like you would have treated a knife held in your hand; point away from yourself and at the thing you want to cut.
  4657. 4657.
    >But now you were over that mental hurdle. The edge and the point could be directed however you wanted.
  4658. 4658.
    >When a gnome was looking away from your knife, you launched it in a straight line, and when he was looking at it, you gave the blade unnatural lift to make it move in wide graceful curves that didn’t give away their final destination until they were already there.
  4659. 4659.
    >It was all over in a minute or so, and not a single one of them had managed to escape.
  4660. 4660.
    >Some 50 gnomes lay dead across the river.
  4661. 4661.
    >You felt a sense of elation and satisfaction wash over you.
  4662. 4662.
    >It had been a much cleaner affair than the previous encounter, so with a little smile, you hummed and levitated your knives into the river, cleansing them.
  4663. 4663.
    >Anonymous was cackling and bumped her body once against Chad in a friendly hip check, while he smirked and reloaded and surveilled his immediate surroundings.
  4664. 4664.
    >”That was fucking awesome!
  4665. 4665.
    >”Went alright, yep.”
  4666. 4666.
    “You were going to do something like that as soon as you saw the river?”
  4667. 4667.
    >You asked pleasantly, while swirling the flats of your blades in a tight circle atop the surface of some sun dried moss on a rock you had found, to wick away the water.
  4668. 4668.
    >”Yeah. It worked even since they were teleporting, those manlets were too confident.”
  4669. 4669.
    >Chad replied, turning his smirk on you for just a moment before he tossed his gun over his back again and started walking.
  4670. 4670.
    >This answered an unbidden question, you thought, the gnomes didn’t see where they were going to appear just as much as you didn’t see it.
  4671. 4671.
    >So they could be dragged into bad positions.

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