>A slight divot caused me to slip into a seated position just as a pair of pony ears, then the head to which they were attached, poked out from the top of the fence
>As the pony’s torso began to crest into view, my mind raced to come up with a response to the rest of the pony’s body following suit - before launching into a dive and tackling me in a flurry of feathers and fur
>I held in a sigh of relief when that didn’t happen
>Steadily, almost casually, the pony settled her forelimbs over the fence and tucked her wings to her side, a pair of gentle thumps denoting her body settling against the fence
>With an unsettlingly friendly smile matched with a generous helping of naïve forgiveness, the pony met my wide-eyed gaze and addressed me
>“Wow, you’re looking a bit worse for wear! Golly, we thought we’d lost you!”
>And you’re about to lose me again ya creepy horse!
>Spinning around and lifting off the “better” of my two feet, I took off with a long stride, immediately receiving a reminder that I was far from being in good shape to do so following my run-in with gravity
>I stumbled on the first step, almost fell on the second and third, but soon regained a steady footing and found myself pushing through a patch of ferns into the heart of the forest
>My bad arm hung limply to the side; it swung wholly under the apathetic influence of gravity as it counterbalanced my running
>I didn’t think I could move it if I tried, and if I had to guess, the doctors were going to tell me I’d run through the woods with a dislocated limb
>For how much I knew something like this really should be hurting, I should be punching my ticket to start travelling with a circus freakshow
>Adrenaline’s a hell of a drug

>At no point did I even consider looking back; if the Pegasus was going to make an effort to tackle me, I’d know - either way
>I wouldn’t really have any reasonable way to respond - either way
>Even if I took a stand to fight, she’d make hoof contact, somewhere, I’d start growing fur, somewhere, and soon end up just like her - either way
>No, the best thing to do was to put all my energy into creating distance between her and myself
>Thankfully, her pleas for me to stop could be heard continuously from well above my head, fading steadily with each step I took
>At one point, a muffled, distant shout pierced the air – “PLEASE STOP!”
>but frankly, all it did was confirm to me that the pony hadn’t opted to follow
>Gradually, my fear of being pursued by two fervid Pegasi, or even just one, began to fade – though the fear never dissipated completely
>Somewhere out there, the four ponies were undoubtedly either restructuring their plans to get me, or breaking into the homes of folks settling in for an evening in front of the television
>And here I was, out for a hike
>Even as I began to tire after ten or so minutes, I kept up a steady jog at a pace quite respectable for someone who didn’t actively run
>Pushing further into the woods, I tried my best to stay on a straight path in the absence of human-made markers or trails
>Every thirty seconds the homogenous view prompted me to second-guess my navigation, as I could’ve sworn I’d just passed that same tree five minutes earlier
>The forest floor was uneven, densely packed in many places with a bed of leaves, in some places with pine needles, and with occasional puddles scattered throughout
>Here and there, a small gathering of rocks and modest boulders, or green sprig of undergrowth, would punch its way through to provide some different scenery

>The setting was a forgiving turn of fortune in a couple of ways
>To an extent, each footfall sent a sharp lance of pain through the leg unfortunate enough to be taking the impact
>Nonetheless, running through the soft forest dirt & undergrowth was at least more forgiving than rocky ground, even as the pain signals were addled by surges of adrenaline
>On top of that, a subtle scuffle of leaves covered the noise of my escape far better than the traitorous reports of shoes on rock or packed earth would
>A scuffle of leaves was a common sound in the middle of the woods; between indecisive rushes of wind and the industrious movements of the forest animals, it was surprisingly noisy
>A few leaves here, a few there – although, in time, the noise of those shifting leaves seemed to become more prevalent and refined
>It had been gradual, but over the span of the twenty or thirty minutes since I’d last seen the ponies, my perception of the sound around me had become undeniably more acute
>Undeniably more acute… and I couldn’t tell why
>Even as my heart was still racing to keep up with my rapid steps, my mind came to a halt as a worrying thought clicked into place
>I slowed to a stop next to a thick tree at the edge of a small clearing

“Oh, please don’t tell me…”
>At the same time as a very deliberate, nervous exhale, I gave a quick shake to my good arm
>I didn’t want it to be too tense for what it was about to do – above all, I didn’t want to get any wrong information
>Nervously, I reached up toward the side of my head, praying that I wouldn’t find a pair of pony ears, exactly where the first clear signs of ponydom had appeared on my neighbor
>Could it have been the dream? Maybe something else had happened while I was knocked out?
>Considering I never even touched one of the ponies, an implication that the… disease… could spread via air would be a firm nail in the coffin of humanity
>I couldn’t already be a carrier of this damned infection, could I? I was supposed to be preventing the outbreak! What if that’s exactly why they hadn’t chased me?
>I set the tips of my fingers against my cheek, slowly trailing upwards, gently brushing the scruff of my five o’ clock shadow
>They got to the side of my head and – ah, there my ear was – right where it should be!
>I breathed a deep sigh of relief as I tugged on my earlobe and a gave a gentle squeeze a bit further up the ear
>Briefly turning my head to the side, I did the same on the other ear – yup, still totally human, as far as I could tell
>I settled my good hand back to its place at my side with a slight smile, but couldn’t shake the unmistakable air of confusion
>I furrowed my brow and wondered for a moment, why would I be hearing the movement of leaves with such clarity and regularity, then?
>With my gaze focused on the horizon, I squinted, and after a moment the answer dawned on me
>Ah, of course! It was getting darker, and when people can’t rely on their vision as strongly, their other senses become stronger
>That had to be it; that made sense

>Still though, it did raise a concerning point about just how late it’d gotten
>Dusk had come and gone, with late twilight already giving way to the first dark blue shades of nighttime
>Where the leaves cast their shadows over the edge of the clearing, an even stronger darkness prevailed, with many of the scarce rays filtered away before even reaching the ground
>I’d been doing my best to chase the setting sun in an ill-considered attempt to follow a straight line out of the woods, but the more i-
>“Pssst, hey, thanks for stopping so I could catch up with you”
>My heart skipped a beat as a cheerfully innocent whisper spoke from eye-level, a few feet to my side
>I didn’t hesitate to react; my fast-twitch muscles wouldn’t waste a moment as a surge of adrenaline shot through my veins
>In a fit of panic, I swung out with my arm nearest to the unseen source, which thankfully turned out NOT to be my mangled arm
>My half-clenched fist met a tuft of pony fur, grabbing the scruff with just enough force to brush the pony from the low branch upon which she’d perched
>A loose grip followed her to the ground, sending her sprawling on her back with a solid thump
>I held her for a second as she gave a half-hearted attempt to thrash free, wings flaring to the sides in their useless attempt to contribute to ‘fight or flight’
>By this point, a gentle tickling sensation had made itself known on my hand – right on the areas where I was grabbing the pony
>As much as I desperately wanted to draw my hand back, I shifted, cupping it over the wide-eyed pony’s mouth
“Don’t scream, okay little pony? I won’t hurt you if you don’t scream”
>The Pegasus gave a rapid, desperate nod to signal her submission, doing her best to silence the instincts of her frenzied limbs

>I pulled my hand away, deciding not to look at it for fear of what I’d see
>I couldn’t let myself get distracted by a few fingers when the harbinger of the remainder of my transformation was lying at my feet
>No, no, that’s quitter talk; there’s not going to be a “remainder” of it - I’m not going to be a pony, this hand is going to get fixed and everything’s going to be fine
>I set my shoe atop the base of one of the fearful Pegasus’ wings in a firm but (hopefully) minimally painful attempt to pin her
>Squatting down gently, I could make out a few orange tufts of fur in the fading evening light, rippling with each terrified shiver as I got closer
>Between wild gasps and choked-back sobs, she did her best to keep her eyes open and meet my gaze
>“I-I-I’m s-sorry, I d-d-didn’t mean to- to s-startle you like that”
>She quaked uncontrollably with terror, tears beginning to roll unceasingly from the corners of her eyes
>“W-why are y-you s-s-still holding me here, I just want to help! Honest! We’re not out here because we want to hurt you! Please!”
>We?
>As if her rising voice wasn’t a clear enough sign, both her wings began twitching violently, a clear sign that she was rapidly becoming hysterical
>The thought flashed across my mind to put her out of her misery – hell, if there were more ponies behind her, she just might blow my cover with her shouting
>A quick jerk of the neck and it’d be done – no pain for either of us
>No…
>No. There would be a lot of people who’d be heartbroken if I were too hasty with “my neighbor, now known as the Pegasus, Clementine Breeze”
>Every problem had a solution; some of them may just take longer to get sorted out with all the desired outcomes
>I wasn’t going to be a pony
>I wasn’t going to be a pony
>And I wasn’t going to cut someone else’s life short just because they were one

>Fully aware of the danger I put myself in by doing so, I shifted my weight off the shoe pinning her wing
>Taking a step back, I watched as her wing flexed and then swiftly clamped to her side – it was quite evident that she was adamant about keeping it there for the time being
>Even with me still looming over her, the personal space did her good; her deep inhales and exhales became steadier and more drawn out as the moments went by
>She let her gaze drift to a neutral view of the forest canopy at the edge of the clearing
>“Why don’t you want our help? I… I know it’s just me here right now, but we’re all your friends…”
“Who’s this ‘we’ by the way? And I’m about to be tackled by your friends in some kind of ambush, no?”
>She rolled onto her side, letting to legs rest indifferently upon each other while pointing a glare in my direction, visibly hurt by the baseless accusation
>“I wouldn’t lie to you! …And no, the others are scouring other parts of the woods looking for you. All four of us – you saw us earlier”
>If they were so intent on recruiting new members to the herd, why oh why were they stumbling through the woods after me specifically?
>As insistent as she was about her honesty, it was impossible to shake the feeling that I was being deceived
“Christ, all… four? But the fence…”
>There’s no way the non-Pegasi could have gotten over that fence, not to mention the cliff that had caused, and continued to cause, my innumerable aches
>As I stepped back and gave her space to do so, the Pegasus weakly rose to her hooves and ruffled her feathers proudly
>“We gave them a lift with these ol’ wings! The others are really insistent on helping you in whatever way they can too”
>That just about sums it up: there’s not much scarier than well-coordinated cooperation, not to mention when its mission statement is spreading that ‘cooperative spirit’

“Well, in that case, I appreciate your efforts… but I want you to go back to your friends and tell them I’m not interested in their ‘help’ – my herd walks on two legs”
>“No, our friendship-“
“YOUR friendship, yes. Tell your speech about what is means to you”
>“The ponies who chose to be a part of our herd-“
“Your FRIENDSHIP is all about taking away the humanity of people who DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS to build up your herd!”
>“No, please - please listen to me, you don’t understand!”
“A real friendship is all about give AND take, and all you want to do is TAKE away my humanity!”
>“But it’s about-“
“It’s about you surrounding yourself – yourself – with friends, not about those you like to say you’re helping!”
>The Pegasus had shut her mouth in a hardened frown, ears glistening with tears as she gave a slow nod of disagreement
“You don’t even remember your time as a human, who am I kidding – but trust me when I say it’s better for us to be left alone”
“It’s not too much for me to ask, and it’s not hard for you to do”
>I should consider myself fortunate that ponies, as far as my limited experiences went, didn’t attack when upset
>The stifled sound of a sniffle escaped from the pony’s muzzle
>She hung her head low, visibly hurt by my resolve; my shouting had reached its audience loud and clear
>A long pause hung heavily in the air, interrupted only by the sound of a few steady gusts of wind and the rustling of leaves
>A rustling of leaves from a particular source that, though distant, was undeniably persistent
>I came to realize too late that the pony in front of me wasn’t the only one in the audience; a moment later, I saw her head rise and ears perk up
>Did she… did she hear something?
>A pair of dampened female voices broke through the underbrush
>“Clementine Breeze, you over here?”
>“We heard an awful lot of shouting, did you find him?”

>I wasn’t going to wait for visual confirmation as I bolted out of the other side of the clearing at a brisk trot
>Er, jog, I took off at a brisk jog
>Behind me, the hurried conversation of three, or maybe even four, ponies filtered through the trees at a steadily easing rate
>For the second time today, I felt a surge of hope as my odds of successfully escaping appeared to appreciate
>But who knows how long I’d been running before encountering Clementine Breeze… and it’s as if she didn’t even struggle to track me down…
>With despair creeping into my mind, I mulled over my options
>I was well and truly lost, miles into the woods at this point, but getting out meant I could find a hospital
>After a quick glance to confirm my isolation, I tempered my pace and stopped
>I lifted my “good hand” into view, though I couldn’t help but chuckle longingly at the fact that it wasn’t good, nor much of a hand at this point

>A thick webbing of skin had formed, closely joining the center three fingers into a solid unit
>The middle finger protruded conspicuously from the bunch, worryingly pointing me to ground zero for the hoof formation
>It was capped with a thick band of keratin, spilling out unfettered toward the rest of the bonded fingers – the beginnings of a hoof
>Moreover, what was once a well-trimmed healthy pink fingernail had taken on a deep crimson hue
>Not quite the color of a nail soaked in blood, but in a way… just as unsettling to look at
>The entire sight was unnatural… utterly foreign
>Straining to flex my thumb or pinky, the sharp decline of their dexterities was apparent
>They felt right at home tucked close against the rest of the skin, no doubt waiting their turn to be swallowed up and be forgotten
>At the wrist, a gentle bulge of bone indicated that the equine proportions were sparing no expense in consuming my humanity, bit by bit
>The entire spectacle was covered by a fine coat of hair, thin further up the arm, but becoming the dominant color as my gaze returned back up toward the hoof
>I wanted to tell myself that the infection wasn’t spreading, that it would stop where it was so long as I didn’t make any more contact with the ponies
>But I had no way of truly knowing

>I could get it amputated; prosthetics have come a long way in the past few years!
>I let out a long sigh, looking down at the untransformed arm hanging feebly at my side
>Ironically, it was the one I’d get to keep even though it were smashed to a million pieces
>But that would still mean showing up to a hospital long enough to possibly make fur contact with a nurse, a doctor, some poor sick kid who thought I was just cosplaying
>I didn’t want to condemn anyone to that; any outbreak needed to be broken off at the head as soon as possible
>I wanted it to be broken off at the head, though if my encounter with the Pegasus back there was any indication, I wouldn’t be the one to literally do it
>Maybe there was security footage back at the apartment; maybe someone else was an unscathed witness to a transformation just like my neighbor had been
>My landlord’s sixth sense was probably tingling the moment the first crash of hooves met the door; the scene left behind had some clear signs of foul play
>Someone would piece together the clues; I just needed to keep the ponies away from people while defenses got fortified
>I could do that
>They were solely focused on following me; I could do that
>They’d made some poor choices in how to grow their herd, and they were going to pay for it – I was going to make them pay for it


>Several years back, my boss had tasked me with keeping tabs on the computer network of a large consultancy firm
>It was an otherwise calm June evening when the alarm bells started to go off; a new virus had flown in under the radar and was showing its mettle
>Before my eyes, files were disappearing from computers closest to the epicenter, falling into the abyss beyond the Recycle Bin as the virus tore its destructive path
>Financial records, project files, customer data – it gave an apathetic shrug in its relentless bid to throw it all away
>Even with as many cords as we could find unplugged, routers disconnected, lines severed, nothing I or anyone else did seemed able to stop it
>First 10% of the company’s computers, then 15%...
>There was no telling how far it was going to go, but it showed no symptoms of tiring
>I sat at my desk, apprehensively rubbing my hands together
>There had to be something else, some other way…
>No… that ‘other way’ was me… it had to be
>Reluctantly, I withdrew my personal computer from my backpack and deftly set it on the desk
>Opening it and tapping the power button, I wiped my brow at the thought that I’d never see a healthy startup screen from it again
>I had all the preprogrammed code I needed to stop this monster, tuned just the way I liked it, sitting among my personal files
>And it would work – it had to
>My gaze followed the snaking line of cord protruding from the laptop’s side, settling finally on a port of the central computer
>With a click, I drove the connector into place; there was no backing out now

>The virus didn’t hesitate to take on its new challenger, sending its full might to my doorstep in a flash
>The unseen battle of ones and zeroes produced little more than a few flickers – in moments, my screen was wiped clean of icons and all went dark
>Had it worked? The dread of useless failure settled in for half a minute before an inquisitive voice in the office spoke out to no one in particular
>“It… it stopped?”
>I gave a deep exhale
>It stopped
>I leaned back in the chair, exasperated and indifferent to the celebratory atmosphere that had begun to rise up in the office
>It stopped
>The following days were spent drowning in paperwork; dozens of computers were written off, including my own
>A “cost of doing business” as my boss referred to it
>He would always smile and tell me I was damn hero or something for putting my personal property on the line in order to contain the thing
>What he never saw when he talked about ‘personal property’ were the long nights spent trying to reclaim the high scores of years past
>The lost chat logs, letters, and pictures sent in correspondence with friends that had drifted away, moved on, graduated
>The photo albums of moments that would never be relived
>Pictures of my nephew learning to ride a bike…
>Pictures of my smiling parents on the day of my graduation…
>Pictures from the last vacation we got to take together as a family before… before…
>I just tried to tell myself that losing evidence of the memories didn’t change the fact that they’d happened
>That the actions I’d taken in containing the virus were for the greater good and it was fine
>Just because I couldn’t relive the past, didn’t alter the way it had affected my life
>But how much was it really worth it? Well, if I let the business receipts tell the story, five hundred dollars was what the foundation of my sense of self was worth
>Thanks boss, some friend you were



>My swirling thoughts cleared as the rustling of leaves behind me spoke more clearly into the night
>Glancing back at the source, I couldn’t make out the shapes of the ponies through the broken underbrush, but they were undoubtedly there
>At one point I thought I could pick out the muffled remnants of four distinct voices, ranging from Storm Cloud’s energetic interjections to Daisy’s slightly deeper, yet still feminine, musings
>The gang’s all here
>It was my lot to lead these four horses of the apocalypse on a useless hunt now that we were effectively lost deep in the woods
>And I had to say, I was doing a pretty good job of it so far
>In a perverse testament to my abilities, I didn’t recognize that tree over there, had no clue about this hill we were on, or anything about wherever the hell we were
>I kept up a lively pace over the leaves and rocks - Step… step… step… Ste-
>Everything went into slow motion as I focused through the darkness on the realization that my foot was about to snag on a well-concealed root at the base of a large oak
>The sounds became drawn out, hanging in the air for a moment
>A solid thump as my shoe bumped against the offending vegetation
>A slow gasp as I felt gravity taking hold
>A whoosh of air as I accelerated groundwards
>A stretching and folding of fabric as my knee flexed outwards
>A sickening crack as the kneecap met an unseen rock
>A crumple of leaves as the rest of my body hit the ground
>Even in slow motion, I didn’t have time to process the sensations, the situation, or what I should logically do
>But, as if the other sounds hadn’t been enough, I did the most primal thing my overloaded mind could manage
>From the bottom of my lungs, I let out a hair-raising cry of agony


>I curled up on the forest floor, my protohoof clutching hysterically across my body to the leg from which the unspeakably sharp stinging emanated
>Squeezing my thigh above the offending region as hard as I could did next to nothing in my futile attempt to quell the pain
>Touching the kneecap itself, or whatever remained, would have accomplished little more than launch me into an unimaginably more intense bout
>Through fogged, tear-filled eyes and a fine layer of crimson fur, I could still make out the remnants of my knuckles fading to white as they clenched with all their might
>With every breath, a hazy black fog invaded the corners of my vision, withdrawing just enough through each tide to maintain consciousness
>With every heartbeat, the ominous red tendrils of blood vessels in my eyes consumed a more generous portion of my vision
>I wanted that to be the only red I’d see today – I wanted this to end, I wanted to go home, please… please
>I didn’t want to see any more red fur, I didn’t want to see any more blood… no more red
>My operational leg shuddered, doing its best to cope by pulling back and then flexing out at an unseen enemy, as if trying to shoo the pain away with feeble nudges
>Through it all, I was distantly aware of the noise I was making, but the signals from my leg were nearly unassailable by the auditory signals
>In a few short seconds, my energy to cope with the situation through sheer decibels waned, gradually giving way to sobbing broken up by labored gasps
>If the pain was going away, it was taking its sweet time doing so
>The tears carried on for a while, easing slowly as I began to reestablish my handle on the situation
>Even as my eyes brimmed, the tragic magnitude of the situation continued to settle in

>I was incapacitated from even wiping the tears from my own eyes – one hand wouldn’t move, and if I used the other I’d probably be looking at a pony muzzle a moment later
>Okay, just let it out, just let it out, you’re okay
>You’re going to get back up in just a moment and make you way out of here, you’re not going to be a pony, you’re not going to be a pony
>It was okay to cry here, you’re okay, you’re in the middle of nowhere and no one out here is going to judge you f-
>“He sounds really badly hurt! We have to help him!”
>“Where are you?! Please!”
>“What happened?!”
>No no no no no please, I don’t care what it takes, please stop them, please, don’t let them get anywhere near me, please!
>With every rapid beat of hoofsteps, the rustling of leaves approached closer and with sharper clarity somewhere in the concealing blackness of night
>I released my grip on the mangled leg; if it wasn’t going to contribute to my escape, at least freeing up my arm might
>I clawed out, desperately swiping for a root to which I could grab; after a half dozen frenzied swings, I met my target in firm union, hoof clenching around the bump on the forest floor
>I tugged through all the power in my bicep, coordinating with a kick with my good leg, and slid a foot or two
>For as much bad luck as I’d had, at least each usable limb was on the same side of my body
>I groaned as leaves brushed across my face and mud smeared across my loose clothing dragging upon the ground
>The progress wasn’t much, and it would’ve taken a master of deception to convince I’d evade an injured turtle at this rate

>No! I didn’t think I’d be able to get away from the Pegasi from the moment I got out the window, this wasn’t going to be the end of me, I’d come too far!
>Blood pounding in my ears, I repeated the pattern – swipe, grab, tug and kick
>Every movement - every sequence - seemed to drag out to an eternity, my breathing picking up to intentional panting through the torture
>Swipe, grab, tug, kick
>Even as my actions became more feverish, the hoofsteps behind me seemingly quieted, long pauses spanning the time between each subsiding hoof
>Swipe, grab, tug… kick…
>Swipe… grab…
>I gulped, my blood running cold as a hundred thoughts battled for dominance
>The ponies… they weren’t running anymore… so… the hunters had caught up with their prey…
>Settling onto my stomach, I choked back a deep sniffle and slowly set my hoof below my torso
>With a forceful shove consuming the last of my energy reserves, I rolled myself halfway over and adjusted into a seated position against a sturdy tree trunk
>My head lolled limply forward, and with a weak cough I raised it to face the silhouettes of four ponies clustered together in the darkness
>My breathing was heavy – whether it was because of fear, pain, or exertion was debatable, but it hadn’t been enough… it hadn’t been enough
>Feebly, I tried to gather some words - any words - I hadn’t been able to piece together in my dream
“I… I don’t… want to be an alicorn…”
>My glassy, unwavering gaze met with none of the ponies in particular
>The fuzzy, dark shapes of the their heads pivoted to look at each other
>A moment later, a soft glow from Daisy’s horn dimly illuminated the faces of herself and the ponies in her immediate vicinity
>Through tired eyes, I could still make out four confused expressions mixed with a strong overtone of concern

“Why… why?”
>Sky Meadows fretfully paced forward ahead of the other three ponies
>“Why? We should be asking you ‘why’ - Why did you have to run all the way out here? Why did you do this to yourself? Why did you have to put us all through seeing this?!”
>Her voice crescendoed before falling into silence, the pony sporting a frown pressed closed as her lips quivered
>“Why…”
“Please… I’m not going to be just another pony…”
>“But we want to help you with every-”
“I. Am. Not. Going to be just another-”
>“This isn’t about you being a human or a pony! It’s about you being a friend!”
>She gave me a pause to respond, but all I’d prepared was an exceptionally forceful exhale
>None of my talking points, none of the arguments I wish I’d had just a bit more time to form… None were falling into place
>She had to be lying, she had to be; how was I supposed to trust a bunch of ponies who valued ‘friendship’ in the way they did?
>Why would they have followed me for hours just to ‘be my friend’ when hundreds of potential ‘friends’ were peacefully at home a few miles back the way we’d came?
>“We can tell – all the way out here – you’re scared, hurt, tired, alone…”
>Well, you’re right on all four of those fronts
>“And… honest… you aren’t afraid of us…”
>I let out a long, labored exhale, its full duration shaken by my trembling body
>Sky Meadows tenderly settled her hooves onto the bed of leaves with each calm step, slowly making her way to stand at the base of my maimed leg, just inches away
>“You’re afraid of how we would change you…”
>“How you would end up feeling… after we’d become friends…”
>“And I’m sure you just think of us as a group of… senseless horses… who don’t care about you as anything more than another tally mark etched on a scoreboard somewhere”
>“I guess… maybe you think that we’re just itching to send out a telegram”

>“You know, ‘one fewer of them, one more of us’”
>Sky Meadows had been directing her gaze dourly downwards, and now lifted her head to meet my gaze, sorrow written all over her face
>“All we’re asking you… all I’M asking you, is to accept our help, please! Before this goes on any further…”
>She hastily scanned her eyes across the half of my upper body that lay in ruin, even as it retained its fragile grip on humanity
>Before looking back at my eyes, she spared a quick glance at my kneecap, a fresh patch of blood creeping slowly outwards, soaking the fabric
>Each breath was a battle to hold back tears, to some degree for the pony, but even more so for myself
>It hadn’t even been two, three hours since I was happily driving home, excited to simply put my feet up and enjoy the little things in life
>A beer or two, a ballgame on the television
>Hell, cuddling with a few huggable ponies would have been a wonderful way to pass some time, if it didn’t lead to humanity loss
>Now, the heart of the man I’d once been was beating its last pulses – it was inevitable in one way or another, these were the final minutes
>Amidst a pitiful rhythm of choked breaths, I felt a single tear roll down my cheek
>That seemed to be the closest thing the ponies had to a collective signal, as Sky Meadows slowly leaned closer, and the other three began walking toward us
>The sound of rustling leaves caused me to perk up, and I caught sight of Daisy leading the others in loose formation, compassionate eyes providing a window into her mind

>No…
>No no no I’ve seen those eyes before
>I’ve seen too much of those eyes, those are the eyes of a killer, a leader who sees the ponies around her as means to an end
>It’s a mask, a veil of deceit, no, this was her circus and she was the ringmaster!
>I don’t care what she’d convinced the others into believing!
>I had no way of knowing that the alicorn-crazed pony I’d foreseen wasn’t this very pony smiling at me
>The same pony that was a few yards away, and closing
>No, please, she wasn’t getting anywhere near me!
>Please! Sky Meadows was here, she wouldn’t let anything bad happen, please!
>I wanted to tell myself that being around the ponies had been what sucked the masculinity right out of me, as I broke down crying uncontrollably
>Please, don’t let her hurt me! Sky Meadows, please, please!
>Loud sobs echoed throughout the forest, my eyes clamped tightly shut as the floodgate of tears flew open
>All the ponies halted, and I reached my hoof across my body to the back of Sky Meadows’ neck, resting it in the soft strands of her mane
>She was initially startled, but took my cue as both permission and opportunity to subside against my body
“Sky Meadows, I-I-I… I want to be your friend… I r-really d-do. I’m just… I’m just too scared…”
>My thoughts flowed without a filter, punctuated only by a few gasps for air to be immediately spilled back out in sobbing
“Please, please, I’m too scared to do this, I can’t… I can’t…”
>I clutched the bewildered mare close as I slowly worked to calm myself

>As I held her in a one-armed hug, her mane danced across my shifting protohoof, now becoming… well and truly, just a hoof
>Trying to move either my pinkie or thumb found no response, as it became clear that they had found their final resting places deep within my arm… my equine foreleg
>The sites were subsequently covered by thick patches of pony fur pressing out of the skin, a tickling sensation seizing every affected inch
>With time, the sensation marched further and further up my arm, establishing itself all along my former forearm to the elbow
>My fingers locked together, functionally one limb, and with my final act of dexterity, I tried to give Sky Meadows a few scritches behind the ear
>She appreciated my efforts, even if my success wasn’t nearly as good as untransformed fingers would have been
>I felt a subdued smile spread across her face, cheek pressed up against mine, a warm sensation of fur softly spreading as she gently nuzzled me
>Her movements prompted my head to move a bit in kind, allowing me feel the extra weight along my face - the first stages of a pony muzzle pressing outwards
>Sky Meadows was comforting, having her there felt… almost… safe
>Safe… feeling that way for the first time out in these woods
>I could feel my breathing was gradually calming, the time between breaths growing more relaxed
>I tried to embrace Sky Meadows closer, gently wrapping my other forehoof around her neck and burying it in her mane

>Wait a moment, since when did I have two hooves?
>I uncrossed my forelegs from Sky Meadows and pulled away; she leaned back in response, not upset, but curiously puzzled by why I’d interrupted her cuddling
>I looked over the side of my body where a mangled, unmoving arm had been just a few seconds ago
>Lifting it into closer view and leading my eyes down its length from hoof to shoulder, I found a complete pony forelimb, covered in a soft crimson blanket of fur
>I took a moment to replay the scene in my mind; Sky Meadows must have been pressed against the arm during the embrace
>The fact that I didn’t feel a lance of agony – that I didn’t feel anything at all – was a surprise
>For the first time since falling from the fence, I tried to move my wrist, and the far end of the pony limb responded
>I tried to move my whole arm, the shoulder pivoting about painlessly, without a single ache to be found
>A far cry from the limb hanging limply at my side, shooting agony through my nerves at any attempt to move it, this pony arm appeared to be… completely healthy
>I tested some more neural commands and flexed what muscles I could, a visibly strong ripple answering and then relaxing back
>They might even be stronger than the arms I had when I was hitting the gym daily back in college
>Getting a better look at the once-dislocated shoulder required me to take off my shirt, which would have been magnitudes easier with at least one functional hand
>Still, with a bit of finagling and time, it came free, leaving me staring in fascination at the sight of my dull human torso flanked by a pair of brightly colored pony hooves

>“We’re doing our best to help heal you…”
>Daisy was now speaking up, standing with the other ponies in a loose circle around me, providing a few considerate yards of breathing room
>She paused long enough for me to settle my new hoof into the leaves and refocus my attention on her
>“We’re doing our best to help heal you… not just your mind but your body too…”
>Sky Meadows glanced at her counterparts, confirming silently with them that she was the best one to approach me in my fragile state
>“Is… is it okay for me to touch your leg?”
>Deep down, I wanted to argue; I wanted to tell her no as a last act of defiance against the third hoof that was probably about to come along
>Instead, I sniffled and gave a feeble nod of approval as a child might on their first trip to a new pediatrician
>Go ahead Sky Meadows, you can have the humanity from my knee too, just please take good care of it…
>She lowered her head and carefully gripped the hem of my pants leg between her front-most teeth, doing her best to leave a generous amount of slack
>As she started to gently shift the fabric, a few objectionable aches raised concerns about whether any movement in the area was unwise
>Nonetheless, even where the fabric snagged, the pain wasn’t enough to incite even the slightest peep from me
>With a familiar warmth making itself known along my leg, I had to guess that Sky Meadow’s proximity was doing some anesthetizing of its own
>Not only was the pain being quelled, that strange aberrant feeling was back… safety…

>I looked on in wonder as she drew back from the pants leg, allowing it to relax in bunches with much of my skin still uncovered, and gingerly set a hoof just below my kneecap
>Instead of a harrowing pain springing up, crimson fur began to appear, first slowly, then racing across its new land of opportunity in every direction
>At the same time, a calming warmth pulsed deep inside the knee, soon met with the visible shifts and popping of morphing bones
>Everything was where it should be – fortunately the transformation didn’t necessitate popping my knee backwards – but something about it simply looked… more equine
>To tell the truth more completely, the warmth had spread to the muscles around my knee and they had taken on a more horse-like profile as well
>I moved my head, trying to get a better look at the spectacle unfolding before me
>My lower leg was characterized by thick, lean bands of muscle, shrouded only slightly by the fuzzy fetlock beginning to drape its lower fringes
>My thigh had shortened noticeably, at the same time bulking up significantly with a mass of stored energy itching to gallop across the forest floor
>My pants were becoming tight, doing their best to remind me of my fading humanity as they strained against the development of my new pony leg, my shoe doing the same
>I swiped at each in an attempt to remove them using my forehooves, for which I’d clearly not read the owner’s manual
>Seeing my difficulty, Sky Meadows took her hoof off my leg and paced over to my kicking foot, waiting for me to stop thrashing it about
>She grabbed the crooked shoe between her teeth and effortlessly slid it off, following suit with the sock

>Doing so revealed the beginnings of yet another protohoof, the outmost toes raising a quiet protest as the rest of the foot began to swallow them up
>On the middle toe, a thickening, slightly crimson band of keratin had made its future intentions clear
>I looked up as Sky Meadows flashed a smile at me, and even if they weren’t all baring teeth in line with their levels of enthusiasm, the other ponies were doing the same
>The waves of bliss washing over me crashed for a moment, no pony close to comfortably sedate my trepidation
>A flurry of thought raced across my mind as panic began to set in
>What if this was all just part of the devious plan, I wasn’t supposed to be enjoying this, I told myself I wasn’t going to fall for this!
>I’m not going to be a pony, that’s what I told myself!
>My gaze jumped between the affectionate expressions of each of the four ponies, a sickening compassion shared by all
>I’m not going to be a pony I’m not going to be a pony I’m not going to be a pony
>My heart jumped into action as my singular human foot kicked outwards, springing me upwards and through a gap in the circle
>Stumbling over the first step on the protohoof, I realized their defense didn’t seem nearly as strong from a standing position
>Sure, even if they had the numbers advantage, I had a height advantage
>“Wait, stop!”
>“Please stop!”
>I wasn’t going to be a pony
>I wasn’t going to be a pony
>I wa-
>I didn’t even make it three whole steps on the protohoof before losing the fleeting semblance of balance that I’d never truly grasped in the first place
>My pants tangled and slid off, a short, grey tail swaying free where they had once been
>Sliding softly across the bed of leaves as twigs brushed against my face, I came to rest at the edge of a modest puddle, no more than a few feet across
>That was it… that was all I had left in me… a few desperate steps

>I slowly raised my torso & head a few feet off the forest floor, shifting into a half-seated position at the edge of the shallow water
>The few quick steps I’d taken weren’t even enough to escape the soft illuminating range of Daisy’s horn, shadows drifting and slanting out ahead
>Between the glow she cast and the moonlight filtering through the forest canopy, I had a clear view of the person… pony?… looking up at me in the puddle’s reflection
>You poor bastard
>You messed up pretty badly, but got yourself healed - or better - and you still can’t manage to run away
>And I couldn’t help but wonder, come to think of it, why did I even have to?
>Well, because of the ponies of course, but that was the surface-level answer that still left so much unresolved…
>The ponies said this was all about friendship, but that’s not true, this just isn’t what friendship is!
>My human friends, even last one of them, they truly got it – hell, they were great friends!
>It’s all about... uh, hold on… listening! Yes, listening!
>I told Clementine Breeze she wouldn’t need to worry about me, that we were both better off going our separate ways, and look where it got us when she didn’t listen!
>And not just her, I told them ALL I didn’t want to be their friends, and what do they do? They literally try to kick down my door – that’s the exact opposite!
>A real friend is supposed to listen to you, respect what you have to say
>When I was studying for year-end exams during my junior year of college, I spent fourteen hours straight in the library each day, and I asked my friends not to bother me
>And you know what, they didn’t – it was me and the books for all that time, fantastic!

>The time I fell on the lecture hall steps and got a bloody nose, all my friends were asking me if they could take me to the health center
> ‘I’ve never seen anyone take a tumble that hard,’ one guy said, not to mention a bunch of malarkey about concussions
>I told them that I’d be okay, that people get hurt all the time and to stop worrying about me – and they did! No more questions about it for the rest of the day!
>For as bad as it might’ve looked, they were good enough friends to oblige, I didn’t even need to say it twice
>Whenever I got homesick, usually around the middle of semesters when the workload got to be too much, I might’ve gone down to the dorm basement to be alone
>And that was fine, a few of my friends and my roommate were the only ones who knew I was down there
>Actually several times they walked in on me crying and asked if I was okay
>I always told them the same thing, that I was fine and to just leave me alone
>And that was fine for them, they always left without probing any further
>And that was fine… that’s what friendship is meant to be…
>If you try to push people away, they let you do so, because a good friend is supposed to listen to you…
>Chasing after you for hours through the woods… feigning concern about your well-being through some kind of… fake… fake… worry… That’s not what REAL friendship is…
>And that’s fine… it’s… fine…

>The reflection of the figure in the puddle shimmered as a series of circle-shaped ripples spread across the water
>Another series of circles spread outwards from a new point a few moments later
>With a sniffle, it occurred to me that briefly before each perturbation, a tear was rolling off my cheek
>Raising a hoof to wipe my eyes, my brushes didn’t help much, vision still brimming with tears
>I tried, again and again, until I gave up, my crying now disturbing the water in a regular rhythm
>All I’d really accomplished was getting my fetlocks wet and pushing my facial features a bit further toward ponydom
>I tried to meet the gaze of my muddled crimson reflection in the water as my sobbing subsided
>Instead, when I refocused, there were two shimmering shapes – one crimson, and one orange
>As the water settled, it was apparent that Clementine Breeze had taken a seat by my side
>I didn’t raise my eyes to greet the Pegasus, but the figure in the puddle proved equally as conversational
>“I know… Maybe you won’t believe me, but I remember some things from before I made my current friends… not just things about myself, about you”
>She solemnly took a moment’s pause, not that she showed any difficulty in recalling her memories 
>“You were always so fun and pleasant at parties, we watched a lot of the games together during the playoffs last year…”
>“You were so full of joy whenever we won, you… smiled… That seems so far away now…”
>“Even if it means you’ll be a pony, that’s the part we… I… want to see back more than anything else in the world…”
>I sniffled, another tear dropping to the puddle and sending forth a new series of ripples

>In the water’s smoothing surface, I could make out Clementine Breeze tenderly flexing her wing toward me, a sympathetic expression across her face
>I didn’t take my eyes off my own reflection – I didn’t want to miss out on seeing the last of my humanity leaving… regardless of whether this was for better or worse
>Clementine Breeze didn’t even have the opportunity to fully drape her wing toward me before I gently reached back with a hoof and guided her into place
>There was nothing between her feathers and my exposed skin, and for a moment I felt the alien sensation of bristling Pegasus wings
>It was strange, but at the same time comforting as I found myself settling into a docile state of mind, wrapped in the blanket my friend had provided me
>Shortly after, the sensation gave way to the familiar warmth and tickling of pony fur pushing out all along my back
>The frontiers of fur didn’t rest after growing dense and fluffy along my back, soon spreading outwards, wrapping across my neck and to the front of my torso
>The broad surface area of the Pegasus’ wing spurred a rapid transformation, the fur racing across my chest as it bowed outwards into a proper barrel
>I found the need to shift into a more comfortable, equine resting position, my legs out to the side as I rested upon my barrel and forehooves
>I flicked my tail, letting its short lead droop across the forest floor
>While I didn’t turn to look, I could feel that my legs were swiftly shortening and reshaping into pony legs… so much for my height advantage…
>My thigh muscles brimmed with energy, not so much anxious to run away from anything, but excited to gallop around with my new friends

>Feet elongated and bristled with longer pony fur - another pair of fetlocks - as my toes fused into proper hooves, a thick band of keratin hardening into my new ‘shoes’
>I craned my neck over the puddle to watch my reflection as the fur found its final objective – the rest of my head
>It creeped up from my neck, gradually engulfing the previously unscathed half of my face
>My hearing cut to a dull ringing upon it reaching my ears, the flaps of skin forming to a point and pressing against the side of my head
>They floated with the line of fur upwards to the top of my head, settling there in the form of a new pair of fluffy pony ears
>I gave each a quick flick and smiled; they were quite adorable after all
>A short grey mane tumbled from the top of my head, and with a few quick blinks, I watched my irises change from a dull blue to brilliant magenta
>I rose to my hooves, giving Clementine Breeze an unspoken signal that her work was accomplished, an adjustment of my back prompting her to rest the wing at her side
>Turning my head to the side – quite a bit further than I’d been able to do with a human neck – I noticed Daisy, Sky Meadows, and Storm Cloud beside me
>They were standing patiently at attention, each sporting their own version of a gleeful smile
“Daisy, I owe you an apology. I owe all of you an apology…”
>I looked over the three ponies before me, also sparing a glance back at Clementine Breeze
“I didn’t realize why you’d be doing so much for a friend… but I think I understand now”
“I’m sorry for putting you through all this, and leading you all the way out here, and getting us all lost… can you… can you forgive me?”

>Daisy stepped forward, setting her hooves precisely into the leaves and positioning the tip of her muzzle inches away from mine
>Her gaze was calculated and certain, but not devoid of emotion, a smile sneaking across her face despite mischievous efforts to look serious
>“What’re friends for, silly?”
>She closed her eyes and quickly leaned forward, a gentle boop between our muzzles coming as the result
>When she retracted, we met each other’s gazes with goofy smiles
>I wrapped my hooves around her in a tight bear hug, and she did the same, sending waves of bliss through my system
>My negative thoughts began to drift away, all the bad things I’d done, said, seen – they all evaporated on the nighttime breeze
>I didn’t have to worry about bills or car repairs, angry bosses or angry customers, or even the fear of not having friends, or being forgotten
>In fact, I had only one unsteady thought, and as I felt Daisy’s muscles tense, it occurred to me that she’d had the same thought
>Playfully, we sacrificed the steadiness of our firmly planted hooves, shifting off balance and tumbling into the shallow puddle
>With a bit of splashing, the other ponies trotted over to join our hug, hooves kicking up water and soaking a few patches of their coats
>After all, friends always love to share in a bit of fun, and we were all part of the same herd
>And I was a pony – and not ‘just a pony,’ because from that moment, my friends knew me as Morning Star