I sat in my room, cross-legged on my mattress. The other ponies had insisted I get my own room, despite my protests that I would be just fine sharing a bunk like most everypony else. Silly ponies, stop treating me like a princess already! Just 'cause I'm the only 'original' pony doesn't mean I mind sleeping with everypony else.

I thought about the hospital, and what I saw, and what I'd done so far. The doctors seemed mostly nice. They were polite to me, and cared what I thought. They were confused, but everypony was confused. Those soldiers though... Who raised them that way? Were they scared? After dealing with Gilda, I always tried to see the better side of ponies, even if they insisted on shoving their worst side at me. There had to be a reason they were acting that way. I mean, taking a guy that just wanted to be safe and throwing them to me to turn into a pony? That's not very nice, and then dragging him away... I hoped he was alright.

I needed information! I hopped to my hooves and trotted out to find Hiro. "Hey, what's up with those soldier guys? They're so grumpy and angry all the time."

Hiro tilted his head at me a little. "You sound like you want an answer larger than 'That's the way they are'." I nodded quickly. "They are not usually called to active duty. It's not like Japan is usually invaded on land, or any other way since the Big War. They did a lot of drills, theories. They know how to shoot those guns, but knowing how and learning when..." He tapped at the ground with his claws. "They don't do much enforcement. They don't usually deal with the public, and now they're doing both. They're out of place, scared, and undertrained for the job. As far as they're concerned, they're doing their best to keep the people they have safe. Ponies are enemies, and treated as such, to be defeated by any means available."

I winced and flipped my ears back. "But they're not enemies..."

Hiro shrugged softly. "A lone pony could do incredible damage if allowed to roam. Our group is, from all rumors, an exception. Most are very aggressive about spreading the disease. Even ponies in this group are eager to do it, they just restrain themselves. The mare finally found a doctor willing to say yes. I haven't seen her or the doctor since then."

This was getting bad! "We have to calm them down, show them we're not all bad. After all, you're all Japanese, even if you're Japanese ponies. You're still you."

Hiro smiled a little sadly. "Not all of us are still what we once were. I'm one of the fortunate ones. I get the idea I have you to thank for that, in more ways than one." Considering I had set him down the road to ponydom, I had the sense to blush, and he leaned in to nuzzle at me. "It's alright. Besides, it was Aiko to start with. She's calmed down a lot since then."

I smiled brightly at the news. "Glad to hear it. She and her coltfriend doing alright?" He nodded and gestured to their room. "That's good! Look, I'm going to do some poking around. We can't let this stand. That's two and a half ponies they have locked away for no good reason." I hopped up onto two legs and pulled out my coat, concealing myself as I had in the streets long ago. "Wish me luck."

Hiro's expression soured. "Don't do anything rash, Pinkie. Your actions reflect on us as well as yourself, and I don't want you being hurt."

I leaned up and bumped noses with him. "I have to go. I wouldn't be me if I just pretended nothing's going on. I have to try something..." I threw down a gas pellet, and was gone by the time he could see again, since I was dashing down the hallway, sneaky style! I didn't let my hooves clip-clop on the tiles and dashedto the edge of the wing. I saw two guards standing there, trying to keep us in. My first challenge. Or maybe my first source of information?

I slowed down my run to a leisurely walk and whistled softly. They both turned to look at me with a little surprise and a lot of caution. Their fingers ran over their deadly weapons. I think it was a nervous habit. "Hiya boys," I greeted with a smile. "I was hoping to talk to you."

They glanced at each other before one of them gestured at me with one of those weapons. "We didn't know horses could walk like people."

I smiled, curiosity was a better response than fear. "We can with practice. I love walking on two legs, and wearing clothes, and doing lots of human things." I let my tail sway slowly back and forth. "My name is Pinkie. What are your names?"

One of them started to tell me, but the other threw a hand in front of him. "None of your business, horse."

"Aw, don't be like that." I leaned forward a little, still smiling. "I just want to be friends, nothing bad about that. It must be hard work, always standing there all stiff like that."

The angry one looked ready to advance, but the other interceded that time. "Hey, she's not causing any trouble. Nice to meet you, Pinkie."

Victory! Of a sorts. "A pleasure. I'd offer you a cupcake, but you know how it is. Speaking of that, what was your favorite food before things got all weird?"

The angry one grunted. "I'd kill someone for some real ramen right about now." I hoped he wasn't being literal, but I couldn't be sure.

The other shrugged. "I never was particularly picky. What do horses eat?"

I felt joy surging. He had asked a question, a good sign! "Oh, all kinds of things. I'm a baker, so I make cakes and other treats. I like flowers and hay and carrots and really just about any fruit or vegetable." I put a hoof to my chin. "If I had to pick a favorite, I guess it would be a cupcake made by a friend."

The angry one suddenly snorted, but he had a half-smile. "Friends make it better, huh?"

"Of course it does! Are you two friends?"

The more relaxed one shrugged. "We're brothers in arms, but we didn't really hang out until all this started."

The other one suddenly pulled up his weapon, aiming it past me. "Tell your 'friends' to stop."

I looked over my shoulder to see a few ponies had come closer, perhaps out of curiosity with what I was doing. "They just want to be friends too. They won't hurt you, promise." I made a 'lie down' motion with my hooves and they slowly sank to their bellies, looking at us with a bit of fear and wonder. "See? Just because you have to watch us doesn't mean we can't be your friends too."

The uptight one let his weapon sag a little. "As long as they stay down, we won't have a problem."

I tried for a new angle to get them off balance. "Hey, did they tell you I'm a real alien?" They both looked at me funny. "It's true! Ask the doctors. I'm from Equestria, not Japan. I hope we can fix things. I mean, gosh, this isn't a good first impression of Equestria, but we really are nice ponies, and we want you to be happy humans, or ponies."

The more relaxed one shook his head. "It's a lot more likely you're Japanese, and crazy." Despite calling me crazy, he seemed amused. "Were you the one that made the cakes with the smiles?" I quickly nodded at him. "I saw those. I thought the kitchen staff had lost it."

The ice was broken, and we just... talked. A little this, a little that. Nothing big, just being ponies, or humans, together. They even asked some questions of the other ponies that were seated nearby. Things like 'do you miss clothes?' and stuff like that.

One of the ponies, a slender stallion, asked, "What's going on, outside?"

The angry one huffed. "Nothing good. You're lucky you're in here. Whole country's up in flames, basically."

The ponies shared alarmed murmurs and he waved it off. "Not literally, in most places. We're keeping the dead zone around the hospital. Those are the orders."

One of the ponies, with her ears flicked back, asked in a trembling voice, "Are they d-doing something? The government, that is."

The other soldier shrugged. "That's up to another unit to worry about. We have hospital patrol for the foseeable future."

Two other soldiers came up, peering at us with concern. "Everything alright here? We're here to relieve you for lunch."

One of them waved it off. "Yeah, they're just chatty today. Everything's under control." He shouldered his weapon and moved to leave, but at least took the time to wave at us on the way.

I was pretty sure I could get through to these two new guards too if I wanted, but trying to warm up all of them, two at a time... That'd take forever! There had to be a better way.

"Good job with that criminal," one of them said, breaking my concentration. When I looked up at him, he smiled an unkind smile. "He got what was coming to him, thinking he could sneak by us. As if he didn't see the signs we posted."

I felt my ears going back. I wasn't their punishment. I wasn't anypony's punishment! Hanging out with me should be a gift, not... "Being a pony isn't so bad, why punish them that way?"

He shrugged. "I wanted to plug him right then and there, but the brass said to take him alive. Guess the doctors made a deal with them, now they get another mindless freak, and what a freak he is." He nudged the other guard. "You see him? He's a horse with a human's face, with a big dumb expression on it half the time."

He was alive! That was good. But... "Well, he's been punished, why not put him with the other ponies." I gestured towards our wing.

He chuckled as he adjusted his weapon. "Not likely. What part of 'mindless' did you not pick up? Jerk's just a test subject now. Still a better result than I'd have given."

I shrugged softly. "He can't be that bad. Can I visit him?"

He suddenly laughed, an unkind sound. "Looking to get your conjugal? You just had your time with him."

What did he mean by that? I got the idea he wasn't going to be very helpful about it. At least my new friend was alive and it sounded like he was alright for the time being. I let out a slow sigh and turned away, heading back to my room. "Hold it." I turned to look over my shoulder. "Are you as big of a slut as they say?" What?!

I felt my tail pull itself against me on its own. "I haven't been with that many ponies..."

He snickered with obvious amusement. "How many does it take? From what I hear, you just spread them wide when they asked you to. You do that for anyone?"

His friend suddenly nudged him. "What are you even asking? You want a piece of her?"

"And what if I did?"

I turned back towards them, confused. "You do know that'd make you a pony, right? I mean, not that being a pony's that awful, but you really should know that before you rush to play with me."

"She's right," insisted the one that hadn't hit on me. "You fuck her, you're a horse fucker, literally. You'll get to join them."

He leered at me. "She wouldn't do that. Purposefully infecting a soldier'd get her killed."

Did he really think? "It's not a choice! If you do that, you will be a pony. I'm warning you."

"Warning me?!" He advanced and drew out a smaller thing. I think it was a gun too, especially the way he pointed it at me. "I'm the one giving the warnings around here."

Was he really? Yes, he was completely serious. "Look, if you want to play, we can play, but you are going to become a pony."

He pushed the gun up against the bridge of my nose, glaring at me. "If I start to turn, you're the first one getting shot."

"Shit, man, stop!" The other soldier looked quite alarmed with how things were going. He pulled out a little handheld thing and pushed it. "Takuya's lost it. He's propositioning one of the horses."

Takuya moved to shove me down, but I was too fast for that and hopped away from his hands. I ducked between his legs and nipped at his leg on the way. "Are you sure? Like really really sure?" I could have bounced far away from him, but the idea of infecting him... It felt so good to think about.

"Detain them both, bring them to the holding cells," came a voice from the thing the other soldier heard.

Takuya wheeled on the other soldier and a loud bang rang out. We all went still as the other soldier collapsed. He just shot his friend. I suddenly felt the opposite of sexy and rushed for his fallen form. "Why'd you do that?! He was your friend!" Just before I reached him, the tile in front of me exploded in bits, shot by Takuya.

"Stop. Raise that pink tail of yours. We're going to enjoy our time before they haul either of us away."

He was still alive. I could see him breathing, barely. I felt certain that was going to change quickly. I raised my tail, not because I felt the least bit like playing, but just to keep Takuya distracted and happy for a moment. I whispered gently at the bleeding man, "Can you hear me? I'm going to save you, but you might not like it."

Two more loud bangs filled the hallway. "Back off!" Some doctors had tried to approach, but were sent scurrying as Takuya proved ready and willing to hurt more ponies to get what he wanted. The other ponies were hiding in their rooms already, peeking out at us. Takuya closed the distance with me and grabbed my hips, dragging me away from his friend. He still had his pants on and didn't do much more than grind against me, but I felt... violated anyway. This was not the good kind of play, not at all. But it was an opportunity!

I pressed back against him just a moment and he made a little sound. He was distracted, just enough for me to suddenly strike, like a cobra! A big pink cobra, the best kind! I grabbed his gun in my teeth and hurled it down the hallway. He howled in pain. I'd caught his fingers in my teeth, but I didn't break the skin. Maybe he could still end the day as a human. "Stop, please." He started to get his larger gun ready, and there wasn't much choice. I jumped at him, knocking him to the floor. I wrestled with him, keeping the gun pointed to the side, away from either of us. That didn't stop it from going off a few times into the walls, but it wan't hurting anypony. "Stop... It doesn't have to be this way."

I heard boots stomping and glanced up in time to see six soldiers closing in on us. "Oh thank--" One of them kicked me off Takuya and sent me sprawling across the floor. That hurt! The same boot came down and held me to the floor. I looked over and saw Takuya was being roughly pulled from the floor and handcuffed.

I pointed a hoof at the fallen soldier. "Please, help him! He was shot!"

Alarmed cries went out and one of the doctors was summoned quickly, who ran over to the soldier and began feeling around before pulling something out and jabbing it into the soldier's chest. "He's lost a lot of blood, still losing it. There's only so much we can do." He was working so quickly, I didn't really know what he was doing, but I knew the man was slipping.

I squirmed under the boot. "He's better as a pony than dead! Please, he tried to do the right thing, don't let him die!" I'd seen too many people die since coming to this weird world, and I didn't want another."

The boot pressed more firmly. "Stay still until the doctor says otherwise. We're not letting one of ours become a mindless horse."

The doctor was working as hard as he could, but there was only so much he could do. I didn't know how, but I could feel the guard's life leaving, and it was a very unfun feeling. He didn't deserve that! I slipped out from under the boot with a sudden pull, leaving some pink fur behind as I scrambled over to the guard, only to come face to face with one of the smaller guns. One of the other soldiers was standing there. "Doctor, can you save him?"

The doctor grit his teeth. "I don't think I can..."

The gun lifted. "Do what you can, horse."

I let out a loud breath and nodded at him before dropping down beside the dying human. I found the wound. It had ripped right through his clothing and there was blood everywhere. Good. It wouldn't be hard to touch. I leaned in and gently kissed the open wound with all the saliva I could muster. "Don't die... Be a happy pony instead of a dead human." I mean, I'd rather have left him a happy human, but that chance had left us. I felt something tingle inside of me, like a rush between us.

He grunted, then he screamed, but he wasn't dead. He began to grow fur quickly, covering the wound in red fur. He spread new wings and flapped them in spastic twitches as his body contorted and changed. His mane became a light blonde shade as I tried to comfort him, even if he seemed unaware of me or anything else. He became a pegasus stallion, fully formed and built. It happened so quickly! The other guards waved me away and I backed up and sat at the edge of the hall. I felt really tired, but he was alive. I saved him.

"He's stable, but infected," said one of the soldiers into the same kind of talking thing the other had used just before being shot.

One of the others knelt down in front of me. "Tell me what happened, from the start. I lost two friends today, so no bullshit, just the truth."

I pointed at Takuya, handcuffed and angry looking. "He wanted to play with me, even though that'd make him a pony. His friend said not to, used that thing." I pointed to one the soldier wore. "Takuya got really angry and shot him. I kept him from shooting anyone else and then you all showed up and you probably know that part of the story."

He nodded. "We do." He rose to his feet and moved over to Takuya. "Well, that sounded accurate?"

Takuya didn't say anything. He just looked angry. The other solider punched him in the belly, making him double over. "Worthless shit head! You are the worst kind of scum! Where do we even begin? Bestiality, rape, attempted homo-fucking-cide. Disobeying orders, irresponsible discharge of a weapon. Becoming a horse is too good for you. I hope they reconsider field executions for you."

He wheeled on the others. "This is enough! You wanted an enemy, here it is." He gestured at the fallen Takuya. "We're more dangerous than half the horses out there. Things may be falling apart, but we don't need to be the first thing to go. Gather up Ren. Let's make sure he's alright, then he's on permanent guard duty for the horse wing."

"Is he still a soldier? He's infected."

The loud soldier turned on the questioner. "He carried out his mission to the letter and got hurt in the line of that duty. He's a hero, not a captive. As long as he remains mentally intact, he retains his rank and duty. Keep me informed of his condition. He sleeps here, for safety, but he's still one of us." They snapped a salute as one, except Takuya, then they moved to leave, carting Takuya away by the under-arms.

The one that seemed like a leader nodded at me. "Keep your snout clean, Miss Pie. We have our eyes on you, but thank you. You acted well today, and I appreciate that."

I pushed up to my hind legs and did one of those bows I'd seen them do. "I did what I had to do. You aren't really going to kill him, are you?" Takuya had done some pretty bad things, but that didn't mean I wanted more death. "We all make mistakes. Can't we just teach him a lesson?"

The leader looked confused. "You're as nice as the reports go. You do realize he just tried to rape and possibly kill you?"

I licked over my lips. "But he didn't, and it's over. He has to learn that isn't how we treat others. That isn't how we behave... But killing him isn't right either."

He flashed a smile. "Good luck, Miss Pie. We all need it." He left then.

It had been horrible, but when I thought about it, maybe it had turned out for the better? One of our guards would be a pony. One of the soldiers would be a pony. Ponies wouldn't just be 'those guys'. They'd be one of them. If he was still a good soldier, it'd be a really good thing, for everypony. Not the way I wanted it to go... But it'd do.

Author's Notes:

So, really, I had this idea for a daring escape, and then all this happened.

Are you all mad at me now? I accept the blame. I let the story get away from me and we ended up here.

Not to say Pinkie didn't get up to trouble! That she managed quite well. I actually rather like this turn, but do you? Let me know!

Meanwhile, slightly more vague:
1: Pinkie learns something internal to herself
2: Pinkie learns something about her fellow ponies
3: Pinkie learns something about human nature
4: Pinkie is contacted by someone from home
5: Pinkie discusses heavy topics with the psychiatrist, she could use some unloading after that traumatic episode